


Rosalie

by HeyItsMeee



Series: Triptych [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Curses, F/M, Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2020-10-14 20:33:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20606882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeyItsMeee/pseuds/HeyItsMeee
Summary: Rosalie is the older sister of Eren Yeager. She promised her dying mother to protect her younger brother, so she joins the Survey Corps along with her brother*DISCONTINUED*





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Look man I wrote this when I was 13 and its unedited. This will be very sucky and the info is also probably outdated and/or wrong. Bear with me. I'll edit it.
> 
> HeyItsMeee

Rosalie sighed silently. Being on patrol was boring, since nothing ever happened except trying to keep her subordinates under control. Suddenly, she could feel a presence behind her. “Hello, Hannes.” Rosalie sighed again. She did not want to deal with her drunk superior this morning.

“Rose.” Hannes said, thinking hard. “It is around lunch, correct? Why don’t you take an hour break and visit your family?”

Rose grinned. Now, this was something she wouldn’t argue against. “Really? Thanks, Hannes!” She gave him a quick hug, and then walked as quickly as she could to her parents’ house.

“Mother?” Rose called, knocking on the door. “Eren?” Suddenly, the door swung open, revealing her mother.

“Rose! You finally visited! You are not dead!” Her mother smiled, then suddenly pinched Rose’s cheek. “How come you did not visit? We were worried sick, and Mikasa wanted to meet you so badly!”

“Mmmph, sorry, momma.” Rose mumbled. “I was busy. I had just been promoted to captain, so I had a lot of paperwork to fill out. How are Eren and Mikasa?”

“Ohh, they’re doing so well! They just went to see the Survey Regiment leaving, the littler twerps they are.” Carla sighed fondly. “Though Eren wants to join them when he gets older. I just don’t know why. It’s so dangerous. If he joined the Garrison, fine, since you’re there to watch out for him.”

“Well, he is nine now, right? He probably just wants freedom.” Rose smiled. “And if he joined the Garrison, things would be so much more exciting. Anyways, where’s Dad?”

“He went on another of his journeys. When he returns, I’ll tell him you said hi.” 

“Thanks, Mom.” Rose and Carla talked about all the new things that had been happening. After she had been there for about an hour, Rose sighed and stood. “Sorry, Mom, but I’m going to have to get back to work. I’ll try to stop by again sometime soon.”

“You better.” Carla said, opening the door.

“I will.” Rose smiled, stepping out of the house. After she had moved a few miles away from the house, she could hear thunder and lightning. There was a giant titan peering over the wall. Before she joined the other soldiers at the rear guard, she heard a scream eerily similar to her mother’s. Forgetting her position, she ran towards the house, finding her mother trapped under the house.

“Momma!” She screamed, trying to lift the beam holding Carla down.

“Please!” Carla’s eyes were widened as she begged for help. “Oh my god. I don’t want to die. Rose, please.”

“Momma, you’re gonna be fine.” Rose mumbled, more to herself than her mother. “Just stay calm. Calm.”

The next few minutes were tense. Rosalie wasn’t able to lift the beam by herself, and Carla knew her legs were crushed. She would not be able to walk, let alone stand.

“Rose. Rose. Rosalie.” Her mother said quietly. Rose looked at her mother, trying to lift the heavy beam as well. “My legs are crushed. Even if I could get out it would be extremely hard to escort me to the entrance to Wall Rose. You…you need to go. Protect Eren and Mikasa.”

“Mom, please. I’ll get you out of here.” Rose cried. “I…I can do this.”

“Rosalie Adelaide Jäger. You are my darling girl. I forbid you to die because of me. Please. Just honor my last wish.” Carla looked frantically around. “Give Eren and Mikasa my love. Please. Rosalie, my love, please do this. For me.”

Rose stood, sobbing. “Yes, momma. I promise. I promise.” She gave her mother one last kiss, murmuring and ‘I love you’ before using her 3DMG to leave her mother. She continued sobbing all the way to the rear guard.

“Ma’am, where were you?” Ian yelled, then paused. “Ma’am? What’s wrong?”

Rose looked up at the blurry faces, trying to wipe away the tears that keep coming. “I-it’s nothing. Let’s just get the people out of here.” She mumbled, turning away to look at the people filing through the gates. Suddenly, thumping could be heard. A three-meter aberrant was running through the streets. “Ian, get the titan. Rico and I will guide the others.” Rose started yelling instructions through her tears. “Mitabi, Phil, you help Ian stop any incoming titans. Let’s go!”

Ian nodded, zooming off to engage in combat with the aberrant, Mitabi and Phil following close behind. Rico turned to the crowd, yelling at them to calm down and get through the gate as quietly and quickly as they can. Rose joined her in helping the elder, disabled, children, and women getting through first.

After a fourth had gone through the gates, Ian called out to Rico and Rose. “There’s extra titans coming this way, and Mitabi and Phil are low on blades and gas! We need someone to help out!”

“Mitabi, Phil, get back here and fill up! Phil, stick with Rico when you’re finished to help. Mitabi, you’re joining Ian and I to stop the incoming titans. Hurry it up!” Rose yelled, joining Ian.

There were four titans approaching. One seemed to be an aberrant as it was hiding by a tall building. “Ian, get the normal first. I’m going to take out the aberrant, then I’ll join you.”

Ian nodded, and Rose zoomed off. The aberrant noticed her, and reached out for her. Rose quickly dodged, hooking onto its neck, but it jumped, spinning around in the process, and Rose went flying towards the wall. She managed to hook onto the opposite wall in time, and barely missed the wall. She landed on the wall, and the titan’s hand moved towards her.

Rose sliced off its fingers then zoomed towards the eyes. Before the titan could bite her, she rose, slicing through its eyes. As she was falling down its back, she turned in midair, slicing through its nape. Her cut wasn’t deep enough, considering the titan spun as well. Cursing silently, Rose moved around and the titan swung its hand at her. Rose dodged, but the hand caught the wires and Rose tumbled towards the ground. Activating her gas, she broke the fall, and ran around the titan. “Ian!” Rose called. “Distract the titan!”

Ian nodded, calling to Mitabi to get rid of the last normal titan. He then moved towards the aberrant, attacking the knees. As the titan fell, Rose hooked onto the neck and sliced off the nape cleanly. “Thanks, Ian. This one was a bit troublesome.” Ian nodded.

\-----

After the surviving citizens got through the wall and the gate closed behind them, Rose went to find Eren. She fought her way through the crown until she spotted the unmistakable hair of her younger sibling. “Eren!” she called, and the young boy spun around.

“Rose? Rose!” he cried, and Rose ran over to him, scooping him up and hugging him tightly.

“Eren, are you alright? I was so worried!” Rose cried, and Eren wrapped his arms around her neck.

“Rose, a titan ate momma.” He wailed. “Hannes saved us but not her. I hate them. I the all the titans.”

Rose held him tighter and rubbed his back. “I know…I know. So do I.”

“I’m going to join the Survey Corps and wipe them out!” he exclaimed, tears in his eyes.

Rose put him down and turned to the young girl beside him. “Hello. Are you Mikasa?” When the little girl nodded, Rose put her hand on Mikasa’s hair. “I’m Rose, Eren’s older sister. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Mikasa nodded, and Rose smiled. “Miss Rose…?” a timid voice called out from behind Eren.

“Oh, Armin. Hello.” Armin managed a small smile. “Yes?”

“What will happen now?”

Rose paused. “Well you have a grandpa, so you’re going to stay with him, since you already have a legal guardian. Eren and Mikasa would be able to stay at my home until they’re old enough to do what they want.

“I told you, Rose. I’m joining the Survey Regiment, so I’ll be in the Cadet Corps!”

“I’ll join if Eren joins.” Mikasa added, and Armin nodded his agreement.

Rose sighed. “Alright, alright. I’ll help you two settle into my home. I will need to set up a meeting with Commander Pyxis, so I’ll ask a friend to watch over you as I meet up with him.”

The three kids nodded once again. “I have to go with my grandpa. I’ll visit you soon, Eren!” Armin said, and walked off with his elderly grandpa.

Rose nodded, and then turned back to Eren and his luggage. “Is this yours?” At his nod, Rose picked up the items. “Mikasa, where’s your stuff?”

Mikasa held up her bag, and Rose added that to the pile she was carrying. Before they could take a single step, Ian came running up. “Rose, Pyxis wants to see you.”

“Ah, shoot. Ian, can you take Eren to my home? I’ll also need you to carry this.” Ian nodded, taking the stuff from her. “Thanks, Ian. You can have my bread tonight.” Rose grinned, walking off to the Garrison headquarters.

\-----

In Pyxis’s office, Rose recounted the movements of the rear guard. “And we managed to get them all in the gate. There were quite a few titans, but they weren’t too much of a problem.”

“Very good, very good.” Pyxis said, staring out the window. “Thank you, Rose. You may go.”

“Sir, I need to ask you something.”

“Go ahead.”

“I was wondering if I could be transferred to the Survey Regiment.” Rose said. “It’s just…my little brother is planning to join the Survey Regiment and my mother made me promise to stay with him before she…” Rose choked back some tears and Pyxis stood silently for a minute.

“Well, from what you’ve said before about your little brother, it seems he won’t be changing his mind. I’ll talk to Commander Smith about it.”

“Thank you.” Rose said quietly, and turned to leave.

“And Rose?” Rose turned.

“Yes sir?”

“I’m sorry about your mother.” Pyxis looked at her, and Rose remembered how kind his eyes are.

“Thank you, sir.” She said, and left the room.

As she walked down the hallways, her mind filled with ideas on how to support her tiny family. She was so deep in thought, she didn’t notice someone turning the corner and ran into him or her. Papers the person was holding scattered everywhere. “Oh!” she exclaimed. “I’m very sorry. Let me help you pick them up. Rose bent down, gathering the papers, and the other person did the same.

“It’s quite alright.” The male spoke. Rose looked up and recognized him as Commander Smith of the Survey Regiment. “Accidents happen.” He continued, and Rose completely dropped all the papers she picked up.

“Oh snicker doodles.” She mumbled to herself. “I just ran into the Commander.”

The Commander laughed. “You are quite the funny person. It’s all right, like I said. It seemed you were deep in thought. May I ask what you were thinking about?”

“It…uh…it was just my little brother and sister. They have to stay with me for the uh…time being.” Rose said, her eyes straying to his eyebrows. “How are your eyebrows so big?” she blurted, and then blushed bright red, covering her face with the papers she picked up again. “Sorry.”

“That’s all right. I have no idea how my eyebrows are so…big.” Erwin smiled. “I really must be going though. I have a meeting with your Commander Pyxis.”

Rose nodded quickly and handed him his papers. “Sorry again sir.” She said, hurrying along.

“Hm.” The Commander hummed, watching her retreating figure for a few seconds before continuing his own way.

\-----

“Ah, Erwin.” Pyxis greeted. “What kind of titan would you like to be eaten by?”

“Dot, you ask me the same question every time we meet, and I always give you the same answer. No titan.”

“For me, I’d prefer a cute lady titan.” Pyxis continued. “Anyways, why did you want to meet again?”

“Oh, Hanji wanted to know if you managed to get any titans alive to experiment on.”

“No, sorry about that.” Pyxis rubbed his chin in thought. “Anyways, I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it?” Erwin raised an eyebrow.

“There’s a captain of mine, Rosalie Jäger. Her younger brother is planning on joining the Survey Regiment when he’s old enough.”

“That’s a relief. We need more members.”

“According to her, her bother is not going to change his mind, and she promised her deceased mother that she’ll look after him. She asked if she could transfer to the Survey Regiment, and I told her I’d talk to you about it.”

Erwin nodded slowly. “In fact, you may have seen her, since she just left a few minutes ago.”

Erwin’s head snapped up. “Her?” he raised his other eyebrow. “I’ll talk to Hanji and Levi about it. You’ll have my answer by tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Erwin. I’ll see you sometime.”

\-----

The next day was Rose’s off day. She had requested off so that she could help Eren and Mikasa settle in. They had all spent the whole morning relaxing and getting to know each other a little better. During the afternoon, just after lunch, there was a knock at the door. Mikasa went to get the door, and Rose stood in the doorway to the kitchen. Pyxis stood behind the door. “Hello! Who are you?”

“Mikasa.” Rose walked forward as Mikasa answered.

“Hello, sir. I hope I’m not in trouble.” Rose smiled.

“Oh, no, of course not! I just wanted to let you know that Commander Smith agreed. You’ll be on the Special Operations Squad run by Corporal Levi.”

“Oh my gosh.” Rose’s eyes widened. “That…that’s a surprise. Thank you very much, Commander Pyxis, sir!”

“Oh, it’s no-“ Before Pyxis could finish his sentence Eren came running out.

“Rose! You’re going to be in the Survey Regiment?” He grinned, hugging her around the middle. “That’s so cool…wait…are you going to join to keep an eye on me? I can take care of myself!”

Rose ruffled his hair. “That’s what big sisters do, goof.”

Pyxis smiled. “Anyways, Rose, I wanted to give you heads up that Commander Smith and Corporal Levi will be arriving this evening to talk to you about your duties.”

“Alright.” Rose said. “Thanks, sir.”

Pyxis nodded and left. Rose spun Eren around and flopped on the couch tickling him. “Eren, don’t interrupt people or I’ll tickle you!”

“Ehehehehe!” Okay, Ok-AH-ay!” Eren gasped. “AH-I’m sorry!”

Rose smiled. “Thank you. Now, we’re cleaning this place because I haven’t been here in ages. The person who cleans the most gets whatever they want from the bakery!”

“Really?” Eren narrowed his eyes in disbelief.

“Of course. I promise.”

Eren whooped getting up, and Mikasa stood silently too. “Alright!” he yelled. “Let’s go!” Rose stopped herself before she changed her mind. He’ll clean up the house…it’s no big deal…he won’t disorganize everything.

A few hours later, the house was spotless. Mikasa had done most of the cleaning, so Rosalie got her purse. “Alright. The bakery we’re going to is a very nice bakery, so I want you on your best behavior.”

Eren assured her he will not cause a rampage, and Mikasa nodded. Rose smiled. “Alright. Let’s g-“ Rose swung the door open and came face to face with Commander Smith. “Bloody hell…I mean banana smoothie!” Rose exclaimed, censoring herself.

“Hello, Captain Rosalie, was it? You already know me as Commander Smith, but this is my corporal, Levi.”

A very short, raven haired, silver-eyed man stepped forward. “Hm. This place is cleaner than expected.”

“Oh. Uh, yes. That’s because Eren, Mikasa, and I just finished cleaning. We were actually just heading out to Wall Rose Bakery. Would you two care to join us?”

“Oh, sure!” Erwin smiled. “I was planning on stopping by on the way back anyway.”

“Great!” Rose smiled. Eren grinned up at Erwin and tugged on his sleeve.

“Are you the commander of the Survey Regiment?”

“Yes. You must be Eren.”

“Oh no.” Rose muttered, and then raised her voice slightly so Eren could hear her. “Eren…”

Erwin waved her off. “It’s fine, I’m used to it.”

Rose shrugged. “It’s your funeral. Sir.” She said, adding the last part as an afterthought. “Anyways, what is it you wanted to talk about?”

Erwin didn’t answer since he was busy talking to Eren, so Levi answered for him. “Well, for one, you’re going to have to stay at the Survey Regiment headquarters. There is not enough room for two brats, so either you find someone to take care of Eren and Mikasa, or you can leave them with the other refugees.” He deadpanned, and Rose nodded.

“I’ll ask around.” Rose said, and Levi continued as if she didn’t say a thing.

“Also, you’re going to need to meet the other members of the Special Operations Squad. There’s Petra Rall, Oruo Bozad, Gunther Schultz, and Eld Jinn.” Levi paused to take a breath. “You’re going to be the newbie, though you’re probably older than most of them. That’s about all I have to say. Erwin will chat about the rest.”

Rose nodded, and then the rest of the walk was completely silent, except the blabbering of Eren and occasional answer of Erwin. Once they reached the bakery, Rose turned to Mikasa. “Mikasa, do you know what you want?”

Mikasa nodded. “A cake. Then we can all share.”

Rose balked. The cakes were expensive, but she made a promise. “Uh, Mikasa, I don’t think I have enough money for that.”

Mikasa was about to open her mouth when Erwin jumped in. “That’s alright. I can pay the difference. Just pay me back later.”

Rose smiled. “Are you sure?” At his nod, she smiled a little wider. “Thanks, sir.”

Eren pulled Rose into the store. “C’mon, Rose. I want to see what kind of cake Mikasa chooses.”

Rose sighed, but compiled, a smile still on her face. Mikasa browsed the cake aisle and chose a beautiful butter cake with white icing and a red trim. The price was a few coins higher than what Rose had brought, but Erwin supplied the rest. “Thanks again, sir. I’ll pay you back when we get home.” Rose said again.

He smiled at her, and then spoke. “Like I said, it’s alright. Though, why didn’t you bring a little extra?”

“Oh, because kids I’ve encountered never got cakes. They’ve always gotten cookies of muffins. Just didn’t expect it.” Rose explained. “But Mikasa is such a thoughtful child.”

“Hm.” The commander didn’t say anything more, but helped her order.

As they returned to the house, Eren turned to Rose. “Rose?” he asked, and Rose turned to him, awaiting his question. “Why weren’t you there when Momma died?”

Rose’s eyes widened, and she stopped walking for a nanosecond, barely noticeable, but Levi and Erwin had noticed. “Eren…could we talk about this later?” Rose asked quietly. “I don’t think this is a good time.”

“Rosalie…” Eren started. “It’s just that…Momma asked me to watch out for you, and that you take care of all of us. But you weren’t there to take care of Momma.”

Rose sighed quietly. “Alright, Eren. If that’s what you want to hear, you can hear it.” Rose gave a quivering sigh as she recounted what happened yesterday. “When the house first came down on Mother, I was there. I did try to help her. She…she told me to leave her and-”

Before Rose could finish her sentence, Eren glared at her, tears welling up in his eyes. “Rosalie, I hate you!” he yelled. “Momma died because you weren’t there!” Rose opened her mouth, but before she could speak, he ran off.

“Eren!” Mikasa and Rose called at the same time. As Rose’s hands were occupied with the cake box, Mikasa ran off first. Rose panicked, shoving the cake into Levi’s hands. “Could you hold this for me? Thanks so much Lance Corporal!” Rose said in one breath. “I need to find him he doesn’t know Wall Rose and may get lost!” Rose then took off after Eren and Mikasa.

“Tch. That brat needs to learn to listen.” Levi scowled at the cake in his hands.

“Levi, she’s probably just worried about her younger siblings.” Erwin said. “After all, they’re the only family she has.”

Levi sighed. “Fine. Let’s just head back and wait for them at her house.” He said. “She’s bound to be back.”

Erwin agreed, and they continued on their way. When they reached Rose’s door, it was locked. Levi handed the cake to Erwin. “Hold this. I’m going to open the door.”

“Which doesn’t involve breaking the door, right?” Erwin asked warily.

“Hopefully not. If it does happen, I’ll pay for repairs.” Levi answered curtly, and then kicked the door open. He examined the lock. “The door is fine, but she’ll need a new lock.”

Erwin sighed, and set the cake down. “Levi, why didn’t you wait like a normal person?” he asked, sitting down on the couch. “You can’t be that impatient.”

Levi rolled his eyes. “I don’t feel like standing out in the cold for ages.” He said, joining Erwin on the couch.

They sat there in silence, waiting for Rose, Eren, and Mikasa to show up. After almost twenty minutes, Eren walked sniffling in with red eyes, followed by Rose and Mikasa. Both the girls looked tired, and Eren still looked annoyed. “Sorry about that.” Rose sighed. “Eren, go wash up. We can talk more after our guests have gone.”

“A-alright.” He said quietly, and then rushed to hug Rose around the middle. “I-I’m sorry, Rose. I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

She sighed, a small smile on her face as she leaned down and planted a kiss on the top of his head. “It’s alright, Eren.” Rose said and gave him a small push. “Go wash up, you smelly child.”

“Am not.” He said, smiling back. Rose laughed, and Eren ran off. Mikasa took the cake from the table.

“I’ll go cut up the cake.” Rose smiled and thanked Mikasa. Once Mikasa had left, Rose plopped down in the chair across the sofa.

“Before we start the Survey Regiment business, would anyone care to explain what the freckles happened to my door?” Rose crossed her arms, staring intently at both faces.

Erwin seemed to pale slightly. “Well, Levi wanted to get in because we had the cake, so he kicked the door open and busted the lock.”

Rose narrowed her eyes, obviously unhappy. “Who’s paying for replacements, because I sure as yogurt am not.”

“I will, now calm down.” Levi sighed, reaching a hand inside of his jacket and pulling out a small bag of coins. “That should cover replacements. I expect change to be returned as soon as possible.”

Rose smiled, and it felt like the whole room brightened up a little. “Of course. Now, I’ll go make some tea and then we can talk business.” She stood up, and Levi quickly spoke before she left the room.

“Make sure it doesn’t taste like shit.” He said, and Rose turned around.

“No bad language in my house, thank you very much.” Rose said sternly. She then marched off into the kitchen, and everyone could hear Rose banging around in the kitchen, trying to find cups and the kettle.

Levi sighed, then stood up and entered the kitchen. “Oi, brat, what’s with all the noise?”

Rose glanced at him. “I can’t find my teacups. Eren rearranged the whole kitchen to look like my mother’s, and I haven’t been in her kitchen in a while.” She said, opening a drawer. “Ah, here they are.” She pulled out three teacups, all of them laced with an intricate blue design that looked like butterflies.

“Beautiful…” Levi breathed, and Rose giggled slightly.

“Thank you, I know I am.” At his disgusted look she giggled more. “Just kidding. These are from my mother, as a parting gift before I joined the 92nd Cadet Corps.”

Levi smiled slightly, but it was gone just as quick as a blink. “Oh. I don’t take sugar or cream.”

“Well, I sure hope you don’t take cream. This brand of peppermint tastes horrible with cream. Sugar, on the other hand, is fairly alright.”

Levi hummed slightly, then returned to the living room, where Erwin was. A moment later he returned. “Erwin would like some sugar. ‘If it’s not too much trouble,’ to quote him.” He said, and Rose looked at him. “I told him it might be too hard for you to scoop up a spoonful of sugar and dump it into his tea. You’d be too tempted to use poison.”

Rose sighed. “How very nice of you. I might poison you instead.”

Levi chuckled quietly, and Rose handed him a teacup. “Don’t break it.” She warned, carrying the other two out for both her and Erwin. “Here you go!” she smiled at Erwin and he smiled back, gratefully taking the saucer.

“Thank you, Miss Rosalie.”

“Oh, please, Rose is fine. Rosalie makes me sound like an old woman.” Rose said, laughing quietly.

“Well, I doubt anyone could mistake a beautiful young woman for a lovely grandma.”

Rose choked on her tea. “Oh, so I’m a grandma now.” She said, pretending to be affronted. “I see how it is.”

Erwin laughed, a deep, reassuring laugh. “Oh, my, it seems I have offended you.” He said, grinning. “My deepest apologies, Miss Rose.”

Rose grinned along with him. “Oh, if I must accept your apologies, I must.” She replied, and returned to her serious face. “Anyways, what did you want to talk about?”

“Oh, right.” Erwin said, the smile never leaving his face. “Well, there’s a few problems we need to talk to you about.”

“Already covered them.” Levi said, his eyes never leaving Rose’s face as he sipped his tea.

“Wait…” Rose narrowed her eyes. “How do you drink tea like that?” She asked, and without waiting for his answer she immediately tried. Rose were successful for the most part, only spilling a little.

Levi tsked, but leaned forward, his cup on the coffee table, to help her get a better grip. He gently grasped her fingers to put them at equal distances from each other. “Now try.” He said, and Rose complied, not spilling at all. “Hm.” He hummed in satisfaction, and she offered him a smile.

“Right. Well, some of your duties would be going out on missions with us, of course. Levi will be training you very hard so that you’d be able to keep up with the veterans of the Special Ops.” Erwin continued, ignoring what just happened. “Then of course, you’d help with training the newer cadets. Finally, you’d be trusted with a lot more responsibilities. We do expect to see you at Commander Pyxis’s office next week at noon. We’ll take you to headquarters from there.”

Rose nodded. “I figured.” She said. “Is that it?”

Erwin nodded. “We’ll be out of your hair now.” He said, and just as he rose Mikasa entered with three plates of cake.

Rose stood as well, taking two plates from Mikasa. “Oh, are you sure you wouldn’t like some cake?”

Erwin and Levi paused. “Well, if it’s alright with you…” Erwin said. Rose smiled, and handed each of them a plate.

“Mikasa, why don’t you bring two slices up? One for you, one for Eren?” Rose suggested. “I’ll go make some juice for you two to bring up.”

Mikasa nodded, and smiled. She went back into the kitchen, and Rose stood to go get the juice out. As she went into the kitchen, both Erwin and Levi followed her, munching on their cake. She was quiet as she squeezed the oranges and added ice and a little bit of sugar. Before she brought the cups up, she turned to the Commander and Corporal, who had finished both slices. “I just wanted to say thank you for admitting me to the Survey Regiment.” She smiled. “I really do appreciate it.”

Levi looked away, tsking. “It’s fine.” He said, but Erwin was a little more eloquent.

“It’s not a problem, Miss Rose. Thank you for joining us.” He said, nodding once before placing his and Levi’s plate on the counter.

Rose ushered them out the door, bringing the juice up after they left. She paused for a minute, and then quickly ran to her room; grabbing a small bag containing the amount she owed Erwin. “Sir!” she called out after them. Both Levi and Erwin turned at the same time. “I almost forgot...” she chuckled. “Here’s the amount I owe you.”

Erwin smiled back. “Thank you. I had almost forgotten myself.”

Rose smiled back, and then left, waving at them right at her door. When she entered, she leaned against the wall and sighed. Was joining the Survey Regiment really the best idea?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahahhaha save me

The next week seemed to come faster than usual. Rose had gotten up at the crack of dawn to prepare, but she didn’t know where to start. Write a list for Ian to help him check up on the kids every week? Pack? Rose decided on the former and went to search for a pen and paper. “Frick.” She muttered. “Where did I put my stationary?”

When she finally started her list, she put at the top ‘buy them food’, like Ian didn’t know that already. Once her list was done, she got to packing. She knew she only needed to pack the necessities, so she threw in four shirts, five pants, her undergarments, and her collection of hair ties and clips. She also added 3 books. As she went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast, a knock on the door distracted her. “The door’s open, come on in,” she called, and the door creaked as it opened.

“You shouldn’t just tell random people to come in.,” a very familiar, very calm voice scolds. “What if the person on the other side was a thief or murderer?”

“Oh, hi Commander, sir. This is unexpected.”

“Mm. Did you find someone to take care of Eren and Mikasa?” Rose nodded.

“Oh, yes. Their childhood friend’s grandfather, Mr. Arlert, has agreed to watch over them. I also asked a good friend, Ian Dietrich, to check in on them once a week.” Rose explained, grabbing a small sack and handing it to Erwin. “Could you return this to Corporal Levi? It’s the change from repairing the door.”

“Will do,” Erwin said, and then walked out. “Well, my job here was done. I just wanted to make sure you had someone to care for Eren and Mikasa.”

Rose laughed, and then closed the door when he left. That was a bit unexpected, but it didn’t get in the way of her day so she didn’t care. She went back to continue with the breakfast when Eren and Mikasa joined her. “Hi, Rose!” Eren exclaimed. “What’s for breakfast?”

Rose smiled at the two sleepy children. “Toast and juice. If you two are good, I’ll take you and Armin out.”

Eren grinned. “Sweet!” he said, gobbling up his toast and downing his juice. Mikasa ate more slowly but still was done in less than ten minutes. “Let’s go ask Mr. Arlert if Armin can play!” Eren said, pulling at Rose’s hand.

Rose laughed, gently pulling her hand out of Eren’s grasp. “Let me just grab my purse and jacket.”

Eren fidgeted impatiently as his sister gathered your things. Once she finished, he grabbed Mikasa and her hands and pulled them out the door towards where the Arlerts were staying. As the three neared the two, Armin caught sight of Rose and Mikasa under the mercy of Eren and ran towards them. “Eren!” he called. “Guess what!”

Eren released Rose and Mikasa and joined his friend in deep conversation. Rose looked around, noticing a teashop, and suddenly had the urge to go in. Letting Mikasa know of her whereabouts, Rose entered the quaint little store. The little bell on top of the door dinged, and she could smell all the tea scents wafting around. Taking a deep breath, she sighed in happiness.

As Rose browsed the aisles, something caught her eye. It was a pack of rare teas, including her favorite peppermint kind. It was a little pricey, but Rose was running out of the peppermint tea she owns. As she reached for the box, though, another hand grabbed before she could. Levi stared at her with cold, apathetic eyes. “What are you doing?” he demanded.

“I-I…Well...” Rose stuttered.

“By today, idiot.”

“I was going to get myself that tea box,” Rose said, “but you can have it.”

Levi grunted. “Didn’t you spend enough money on that damn cake though?”

Rose sighed. “I know, but I’m running out of peppermint tea. And rare teas are very hard to get.”

Levi narrowed his eyes as he plucked the tea off the shelf. It looked like he was about to walk off with the teas, but to Rose’s surprise, he placed the box in her hands. “Take it. You seem like a true lover of tea and you honestly can make a mean brew.”

Rose grinned. “Thank you so much, sir!”

Other than that strange encounter with the Corporal, the rest of the day was fairly uneventful. Rose took Armin, Eren, and Mikasa to the library, where they read all day. Armin read books about the titans and history, Eren liked the books about titans as well, and Mikasa read stories about forests and fairies. When they finished, Rose dropped Armin off with his grandfather then took Eren and Mikasa back for a fancy dinner.

After dinner, Rose took them to her house. “Promise me you’ll be good, Eren, and watch over Armin and Mikasa.” Eren smiled and nodded heartily. “Mikasa, take care of Eren and Armin. Make sure they don’t get into dumb situations.” Mikasa smiled and agreed. “It really was nice to meet you, Mikasa. I’ll visit you both.”

With that, Rose left, leaving the house keys and a sack of coins with them. As she approached Pyxis’s office with her belongings, she started to think about her decisions. Shaking off her doubts, she continued on her way. When she entered the office, Anka Rheinberger, Rico, Hannes, Levi, Erwin, Ian, and Pyxis were there. “Oh!” Rose gave a small exclamation.

“Something wrong?” Pyxis inquired, and Rose smiled.

“Nothing at all, just a little surprised at how many people are here.”

Hannes and Ian laughed, and Rico scoffed. “We wanted to say goodbye,” Anka explained. “Well, I for one hope you enjoy the Survey Regiment. Don’t die.” She said, Ian echoing her.

Rose grinned. “Of course, of course. And Ian?” With Ian’s attention, Rose glared at him, and the room seemed to darken. “If Eren or Mikasa get hurt, you’re dead.”

Ian nodded quickly, and everyone laughed. Rose patted him on the shoulder smiling before Rico spoke.

“Don’t be an idiot. I know how hard it is for you to do that.” Rico said, and Rose sighed while rolling her eyes.

“I’ll try my best. Thanks.”

Hannes sighed. “Now, Rose. As much as I’d love for you to stay in the Garrison…”

“Yeah, so I can haul your drunk butt out of bed.” Rose teased, and Hannes grinned in spite of himself.

“True, true. I’m not denying it. But I know you love your family and I will support your decision. Eren, Mikasa, and Armin are dears.”

Rose smiled, tearing up, then spoke. “Hannes…that may the least drunk thing you’ve said to me since I met you.”

Hannes laughed heartily. ‘That’s true, that’s true. I think when I first met you as a captain I hit on you.”

Levi choked and Erwin’s eyebrow twitched. Pyxis, however, burst out laughing. “That’s our Hannes.” He chortled out. “But yes, we’ll all miss you, Rose.”

Rose grinned. “I appreciate it, sir. Goodbye.”

“Sure you won’t regret this?” Levi asked, and Rose shook her head. “Then let’s go.”

Rose, Erwin, and Levi walked out of the room, and Rose smiled, blinking back tears as she left her home for the first time in a while.

\-----

“It’s…bigger than I thought.” Rose squeaked as she looked up at the Survey Regiment headquarters.

“Why, did you think we lived in some hovel or some shit?” Levi asked bluntly, and Rose blushed, partly because of the use of bad words, but mostly because of embarrassment.

“Sorry,” Rose said, quickly, looking away from the window.

“It’s alright,” Erwin reassured, and Rose smiled.

“Alright, we’re here. Let’s go.” Levi said while ignoring the look Erwin shot him.

Rose smiled again and hopped out of the cart. She, Erwin, and Levi continued on the path, Erwin explaining the layout, Rose nodding, and Levi glaring. As soon as they entered the building, Rose could hear people arguing. “Oruo! Be careful!”

“Worried about me, Petra?”

“Oruo, I swear, I am going to kick you.”

Levi sighed. “And the people you hear arguing makeup two-fifths of my squad.”

Just then, a blonde, tall man accompanied by a dark-haired man entered. “So you see, Gunther, if you-” Before the blonde man finished his sentence, he noticed Rose, Levi, and Erwin. “Commander and Corporal, sir!”

Erwin waved away his salute. “Hello, Eld. As you have heard, another person is joining your team. This is Rosalie Jäger.” Erwin said, motioning to Rose, who waved.

“Hello!” Rose chirped.

“Hi.” Eld and Gunther said. “It’s nice to have someone else on this squad. Maybe Oruo will stop being a showoff now.”

“Hey!” an older looking man with an undercut rushed into the room yelling, and a young woman followed. Rose assumed he was Oruo and she was Petra. “What are you saying about me?”

Rose smiled and greeted him. “Hello. I’m Rose!”

Oruo noticed her and his superiors. As he and Petra saluted, he replied to Rose. “Ohh, hello. You must be the new one. Don’t worry, I, Oruo, will be sure to show you all the ropes.”

Levi sighed. “At ease Oruo, Petra. Did you four clean headquarters like I told you to?”

Petra nodded. “Of course!” she said.

Levi continued talking. “Okay. I’ll check to see if you did a thorough job. In the meantime, get to know Rose better.” At that, Erwin said his goodbyes and left for his office, and the shorter male also left.

Petra smiled at Rose. “So, how about you tell us your age and why you joined the Survey Regiment? That’ll be a nice way to get to know you better.”

Rose smiled back. “Alright. I’m twenty-two years old, and I joined because my brother is planning on joining, and I want to protect him.”

At that, Oruo’s jaw dropped. “Wait, you’re older than some of us?”

Rose nodded. “Yes, but I’m pretty sure you guys are more experienced than I.”

Oruo grinned, and Petra clapped a hand over his mouth before he could speak. “So, I heard you transferred from the Garrison. If you don’t mind me asking, what section were you in?”

“I was a captain,” Rose said, and Eld smiled.

“Oh, so you do have experience then. Maybe you won’t soil your pants like Oruo and Petra did on their first expedition.”

Petra and Oruo turned red and sputtered at Eld. “Ah, don’t feel embarrassed.” Rose chuckled. “I cried when I first had to fight titans.”

Petra smiled through her embarrassment. And at that, Levi poked his head back in. “Who was cleaning the attic?”

“Oruo was.” Petra, Eld, and Gunther said unanimously.

“It’s filthy. Clean it again.”

“Yes, Captain!” Oruo said, saluting, and ran off.

“Petra, show Rose to her room. Eld and Gunther set up the training grounds. We’re going to see how well Rose does.”

All four saluted, and Levi dismissed them. As Petra led Rose through the halls, she explained a few things. “The corporal has a few rules. We have to do a thorough cleaning at least once a month, and we each have to make a cup of tea for him every month to make sure we can do it well.”

“Strange…” Rose mused, and Petra giggled.

“You get used to him.” Once Rose dropped her bags off in the room she would share with Petra, they headed outside. Eld, Gunther, Oruo, and Levi were out there waiting.

“Finally. Now, you’re going to be in hand to hand combat against Oruo. Then we’re going in the forest to see your skill with the maneuver gear. Finally, we’re cleaning the basement.”

Rose hid her snicker behind a cough and then smiled. “Sure! Show me what you got, Oruo.”

Oruo smirked, and then came at her with a roundhouse. Rose caught it, then yanked, causing Oruo to fall on the ground. He jerked his leg back, making her lose her grip, and he sprung back up, throwing a punch at Rose. She grabbed his hand, and he threw another punch at her. Instead of grabbing that one too, which is what he wanted, Rose sidestepped and threw Oruo over her shoulder. He bit his tongue, and whimpered, buying Rose a second to plant her foot on his back firmly. “Do you yield?” she said, and Oruo groaned, moving around a bit, but he couldn’t get up.

“Yess.” He moaned, and Rose smiled, removing her foot and offering him a hand. Oruo takes it, and Rose yanks him up.

“You did well.”

“Hunh…thanks…” Oruo said. “I wouldn’t have messed up if I hadn’t bit my tongue.”

Rose smiled again, but Levi gets everyone’s attention. “Alright you brats, get your gear on, and I’ll explain what’ll be going on.” Everyone turned to grab their neatly lined up gear, and Levi continued talking. “So we’ve set up ten titan models in the wood. Rose, go kill all of them. We’ll be following behind to analyze your attack pattern and shit. Once you finish, return here.”

Rose nodded, finishing up with the straps. Once she pulled on her boots, she waited for Levi’s signal. “The fuck you waiting for? Go.” She blanched for a moment, and then moved forward, shooting her hooks onto two trees.

Rose pulled herself forward, using her momentum to move forward. A few feet from the ground, she shot herself forward. This continued for about five minutes before she found the first titan. Hooking herself onto it, she revved up the gas canisters for half a second, allowing her to shoot forward. Using that momentum, Rose sliced off the nape of the model titan with ease. This method worked well until the last titan when she had misjudged the distance. Because she had a lot of momentum, she cut too deeply, causing her to go off balance and scape against a tree slightly. “Well, tomato my life.” Rose groaned quietly, heading off to the training grounds.

Once she got there, she was surprised to find the Special Operations Squad there already. “Wow!” Petra exclaimed. “You did a lot better than I imagined!” Eld and Gunther nodded and smiled in approval. Oruo, however, wasn’t so sure.

“Tch, you could have killed the last titan a bit better. What was up with that anyway? You used the same technique.” Oruo scoffed, looking down his nose.

“Oh, right!” Rose said. “I have a bit of depth perception and far-sightedness. It’s very minimal, so I don’t need glasses. I have the medical papers in my room. Do you want them?”

Levi shook his head. “I don’t since you just told us. Just drop them off at my office when you get the chance. I’ll send them off to Erwin. Anyways, you did well, though you rely on your momentum too much.” Rose nodded. “That was what caused the mishap. Since you misjudged your distance, the nape was closer, and you were going very fast. That is good unless you’re very close. That means your blades are going to go deeper and that causes misdirection. We’ll be working on that during training.”

“Oh, and you’ll also be working with us so we will be able to coordinate attacks without needing to speak!” Petra piped up.

Rose smiled. “Oh, that’s so great you guys have that bond as well!”

Petra and the rest looked confused. “You have a bond like that?”

“Ohh, yes. With my some of Garrison squad.” Rose reminisces. “Ian, Phil, Rico, and Mitabi. We worked seamlessly together. But I guess I’ll just have to rebuild that, only with you guys!”

Petra grinned. “It’ll be great!”

Levi coughed, getting the attention of them all. “Great. Now that the touchy-feely thing is over, let’s get to cleaning the basement up. Rosalie and Oruo, you’re in charge of the cells. Don’t worry; no one is in there. Petra, you’re in charge of Hanji’s office. Eld, the bathrooms, and Gunther, you clean the spare bedroom.

Everyone nodded and then ran off. Rose and Oruo headed to the two cells, A and B. “Rosalie, you clean A, and I’ll clean B.”

Rose nodded. After about twenty minutes of awkward silence, Rose spoke. “Oruo, do you want to chat? We’ll get to know more about each other as well, strengthening our bond!”

“Tsk, I guess so. Why don’t you list five random facts about you and I’ll do the same?”

“Oh!” Rose gave a surprised laugh. “Can you go first? I need to think up some random facts.”

“Oh ho, well in that case, alright. Let’s see…” Rose rolled her eyes slightly but stayed silent. “I was from the same cadet group as Petra. That’s one. The second is that I have the highest solo kills out of the Special Ops Squad. That’s two. The third…well…”

“Oh, wow! Oruo, we managed to clean half of our respective cells. I’ve never felt so clean in my life!” Rose laughed, and Oruo smirked.

“It must have been because of my amazing ability to influence others to work harder!” Oruo boasts. “Anyway, the third fact is that I graduated in my cadet group’s top ten!”

“Nice!”

“Oh ho! I know.” Oruo grinned stupidly. “Anyways, I bite my tongue about two times a day, all on purpose, of course. That’s the fourth. Oh! Rosalie, you must promise me one thing.”

“Of course, Oruo! I want you to trust me!”

“Well, then. Please keep all this secret. I would be embar…err…I mean mad if this slipped out.” At Rose’s vigorous nod, Oruo continued. “Well, I imitate the Lance Corporal Levi because I want to be just like him and impress Pe-”

Oruo was interrupted by him biting his tongue again. “Tell you what, Oruo. I’ll go now.” At his weak nod, Rose started. “I’m slightly allergic to mint. It’s a little weird since I enjoy peppermint tea but whatever. I’m eleven years older than my younger brother.”

Oruo looked up, curious. “Who’s your brother?”

“Eren.” Rose said, and Oruo nodded. “Anyways, I graduated 1st in my batch of trainees. What else to say, what else to say. Oh! I remember a lot of my life in great detail since I have hyperthymesia.”

Oruo grinned. “Oh, that’s pretty neat, if I do say so myself.”

“Thanks, Oruo!” Rose chirped. “Anyways, I need two more, right? Well, my hair is sentimental to me, and I speak French and German.”

“Tch, well, we know more about you now.” Rose jumped at the scarily familiar voice.

“What uh um hi hello sir Corporal Levi sir.” Rose and Oruo gasped, saluting. Eld, Petra, Gunther, Levi, and Erwin were there. “Uh…how much did you hear?”

“Oh, since Oruo bit his tongue…again…” Petra growled at the man. “But that is so cool, Rose! What can you say in French and German?”

Rose laughed quietly. “Well, not much. I know enough of French to not die, but German is just a couple words.”

“Say something in French and German then!” Petra pleaded.

“J’aime ma familie. Which is I love my family in French.” Levi nodded his approval and Rose continued, not noticing. “Würden Sie mir bitte helfen? That’s would you help me in German...I think.”

“Oh my God, that’s so good!” Petra cooed. “Can you teach me French?”

Rose laughed. “Yeah, sure, if you’d like.”

Petra grinned and clapped her hands. “W-what? Can you teach us as well?” Eld, Gunther, and Oruo gasped.

“I-I mean, alright.”

“Yay!” The Special Ops squad cheered, and Levi scoffed.

“Oú avez-vous appris le François?” (Where did you learn French?) Rose blanched.

“Ne salvias pas que tu parlais!” (I didn’t know you could speak French!)

“Je fais, mais répondre à la question.” (I do, but answer the question.)

“I might as well tell everyone. I learned French with my friend, who knew it fluently.” Rose explained, and everyone nodded.

“Lovely. Let’s go grab dinner then we go to bed. Oruo, you didn’t finish your side so you have to clean it again after dinner.” Levi said.

“Alright, sir.” With that, you all headed up to the cafeteria.

Apparently, today’s dinner was some kind of soup that looked sort of like bouillabaisse. But oh jeez, it didn’t taste like it. It tasted like soggy bread left out in the sun and then dumped into some warm milk. Rose choked it down and then started nibbling on her bread. As she ate, Petra slid in next to her. “So how do you say hello in French?”

“Well, there are multiple ways,” Rose said. “Salut, like saloon with a ‘t’ instead of ‘n,’ is an informal way of saying hello. You’d say it to people with a relationship like Eld.”

“Saleut?” Petra tried, enunciating the ‘t’ a little too much.

“No, copy after me. Sah.”

“Sah.”

“Lute.” Rose finished her demonstration, cutting of the ‘t’ more quietly.

“Lute. Salut.” Petra grinned. “I did it!”

“Nice, Petra!” Petra hooked her arm around Rose’s shoulders.

“Thanks, Rose!” Petra said. She then stuffed a spoonful of soup in her mouth. “Oh, ew…Oruo, you are horrible at soup making!”

“It’s not like anyone else is better at it!” He protested, and Petra scoffed.

“That doesn’t mean you just dump a day-old loaf of bread into milk you warmed up at the stove!”

“Ohhh…” Rose’s murmur stopped the two from arguing. “So my guess was correct.”

“What guess?” Oruo and Petra asked.

“That the soup is made out of heated milk and bread.” Rose clarified, and Petra rounded on Oruo.

“See? Even Rose can tell this is so badly made!”

Rose laughed. As Petra and Oruo continued bickering, Eld slid in next to her and Gunther across from her. “They always do this.” Eld chuckled. “You get used to it after a while.”

“Oh, I am already used to it,” Rose said, chuckling along. “There were two people in the Garrison, Rico, and Hannes, and they argued to no end.”

“Huh, so maybe you’d know how to break them up,” Gunther commented. “It’s getting annoying.”

“I doubt it,” Rose said. “Rico and Hannes ended their arguments since Hannes was a superior, and he used that to his advantage to make Rico quiet. I rarely had to step in.” Eld nudged her with his elbow.

“Why don’t you try?” he teased.

“Well, alright.” Rose turned to Petra, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Petra, it’s no use arguing. If you don’t like him that much, do you want me to sit in between you?”

Petra turned to Rose. “Yes, please. Oruo is such a blockhead! I’m sick of it.” Rose laughed quietly, swapping places.

“I’m sure he’s not that bad, Petra,” Rose said, and Oruo smiled.

“See Petra, even Rose likes me!”

“And that’s not what I said but sure,” Rose said, and Eld reached around Petra and Rose, thumping Oruo on the back.

“Chin up, Oruo. I’m sure someone still likes you.”

Oruo scoffed, but before he could say more, Levi spoke. “Alright, dinner’s over. Go to your rooms and go to sleep. Oruo, remember to finish your cleaning.”

Rose and the others got up and headed to their rooms. As Rose and Petra moved along they started chatting. “So Petra, I heard you and Oruo were from the same cadet group.”

Petra nodded. “He was such a nice person back then. Now he imitates the Corporal and it’s just painful to be around.”

Rose raised an eyebrow. “So it’s that obvious?”

Petra nodded vigorously. “He’d be so much nicer and better if he stuck to his old personality.” Rose smiled and Petra continued. “Say, didn’t you mention your hair is sentimental? Why is that?”

“Oh, it’s because when I was younger my hair got damaged a lot. I could never have it long, even if I wanted to.” Rose explained. “When I got older, I kept my hair nice so that it could grow long. I never had the heart to cut it, though I trim it sometimes. I guess it’s not hugely sentimental, but I wouldn’t ever cut it unless I had to.”

Petra nodded. “That’s cool. How do you keep it from getting in your way?”

Rose shrugged. “I mostly just keep it up in a bun at all times. Once in awhile, I’ll let it down, but that’s on my off days.” As they were talking they reached their room door.

“Rose do you want to unpack now or tomorrow?”

“I have to drop by the Lance Corporal’s office tomorrow with my medical papers so I’ll just do it tomorrow.”

Petra nodded. “All right. I’ll help you out tomorrow too!”

“Thanks, Petra,” Rose said, removing her boots, belts, and jacket. Petra did the same, and then they crawled into their respective beds.

Rose counted to two hundred, and when she was sure Petra was asleep, she crawled out of bed and started unpacking. Once she put all her clothes in the closet and dresser, she pulled out her medical reports and stationary, placing them on her desk. She lit a candle, the dim light causing Petra to stir but not wake up. Using that light, she wrote a letter to Eren and Mikasa, and then one to both Mitabi and Phil, since they weren’t able to see her off.

To Eren and Mikasa, her letter read:

Dear Eren and Mikasa,

Hello!

I know I just left you, but I guess I don’t know what else to do in my spare time. Actually, no, I technically don’t have spare time, but you know my sleeping habits and me. Anyways, it’s nice here. I’m sure you’ll like it when you come to join. I have to teach my fellow soldiers French.

Commander Erwin is nice. He also has great eyebrows. It’s a little funny. Anyways, I should probably explain something. So I could have just joined when you joined, but I joined earlier because I feel like it’d be more useful if I joined before you and got used to the lifestyle. I miss you guys already. Your weirdo of a sister,

Rose

To Mitabi and Phil, her letter said:

Mitabi, Phil,

I’m sorry I couldn’t say bye to you. Who’s the new Captain now that I’m gone? Is it Weilman? It’s probably Weilman. Anyways, I hope you guys do well without me. Tell Hannes not to get drunk often or I’ll kill him.

Rose

After her letters were finished, Rose sealed them up and then started going through her medical reports. Once they were all in order, she stacked the three books alphabetically by title. Since she finished unpacking all her stuff, she made her bed twice. She didn’t know what else to do, but since it was almost time to get up, she crawled in bed and pretended to be asleep.

As Petra got up, so did Rose, fake yawning. “Ah, morning, Petra!”

“Rose!” Rose looked up at Petra. “Why did you unpack in the middle of the night? And write letters home?”

“Oh, I couldn’t sleep.” Rose half-lied. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s alright,” Petra said. “Now come on. We can drop the papers off at the Corporal’s office then head to breakfast.” Rose smiled, grabbing the papers, and Petra led her out the door and down the hallway.

At the door, Rose knocked. “State your name and business.” Rose could hear the Corporal’s voice call out.

“Petra Rall and Rose Jäger. Rose had the medical papers you needed.” Petra said, and the Corporal answered.

“Enter.” Inside was a lovely room, with a window viewing the training grounds and a bookshelf behind a desk. At the desk was Levi, working on paperwork. “Did you need Petra to help you deliver paperwork, Jäger?”

“Well, sir, I didn’t particularly want to get lost looking for your office,” Rose replied, and Petra squirmed slightly as Levi’s eyebrow raised.

“Hm. Put the papers on my desk.” Rose complied. “You’re dismissed. Go have breakfast.”

\-----

After breakfast, Rose and the others were training in hand-to-hand combat. Rose was paired with Petra, Oruo with Eld, and Gunther fought Hanji since there was no one else to pair up with him. “Ready, Rose?” Petra asked, and Rose nodded, smiling slightly.

Petra leaped at Rose with a quick jab to her ribs, but Rose easily sidestepped that and rammed her elbow into Petra’s back, knocking her down. Rose turned swiftly, but Petra kicked her shin, causing Rose to stumble back. Using that, Petra scrambled to her feet, kicking at Rose. Rose grabbed her foot before the blow could hit, twisting it so that Petra lost her balance, almost falling. “Ugh. Rose, how are you so good at this?” Petra complained, smiling slightly.

“I received extra training during my cadet days,” Rose said, all the while throwing a punch at Petra. Petra blocked the punch, and the one thrown after that, but that is what Rose wanted. Rose brought her knee up, ramming it into Petra’s stomach.

“Augh…” Petra groaned, falling onto her knees. “I yield.”

Rose offered a hand to Petra, who accepted it and pulled herself up. “Are you okay?” Rose asked, smiling apologetically.

“Yeah, just a bit sore,” Petra said. “I think I sprained my ankle as well.”

Rose winced. “That actually may be my fault when I twisted your foot. I’m sorry. I’ll take you to the infirmary. Come on.” She apologized, helping Petra limp towards the said building.

Petra smiled at Rose. “Thanks, buddy!” she chirped, causing both the girls to giggle.

Rose smiled back, but as they reached the hallway, they heard a voice behind them. “Rall, Jäger. What are you doing?” Levi asked, narrowing his eyes at the giggling offenders.

The two girls sprang into a salute, and Petra answered with a quivering voice. “I think I sprained my ankle while sparring with Rose. Rose decided to kindly help me to the infirmary.”

“Tch.” Levi’s trademark sound caused Rose to frown slightly. “Get back to training, Jäger. Petra can walk by herself.”

Rose glared but didn’t dare disobey a direct order. She stalked off towards the other Special Operations member, and Petra turned to continue towards the infirmary. As she walked off in one way and Levi in the other, Rose stuck her tongue out and Eld chuckled. “Don’t let it get to you, Rose. He does care.”

Said female sighed, but turned around. “What’s next on the training agenda?” She asked, and Oruo grinned.

“It’s 3DMG training.” He said, and Rose nodded.

“Alright. So what’s going to happen?” Gunther started to explain as the group put on the gear.

“Well, you’re going to be following us through the trees and seeing how we assist each other killing titans. That way you can get a grasp of how we work.” Rose took in the knowledge while attaching the gear. After she finished, they set off toward the woods. “Unfortunately, Petra isn’t here, so you won’t be able to see us all in action.”

Rose smiled. “I’ll still get an idea of how you guys work together. It’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure you can keep up?” Eld and Oruo questioned worriedly.

“Yep! As I said, it’ll be fine.” Rose said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The French/German probably sucks loll
> 
> Tell me what the correct translation is if it is sucky.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one suckkkksssss I was such a stupid writer when I was younger

“Oof…” Rose panted as she landed on the training grounds. “You guys are way faster than I thought.” Eld and Gunther chuckled as Oruo grinned proudly.

“Well, that’s because we do go outside the walls a lot. We have to be quick unless we want to be eaten. We have to deal with a lot more abnormals than the Garrison.” Gunther explained.

“Hm. That is very true.” Rose sighed, running her hand through her hair. “I guess we took the safety of the walls for granted.” Oruo sniffed audibly, a sure sign he was going to boast. Just before he did, however, a young cadet offered Rose a piece of paper. Rose opened it, and inside was the list of chores each person was tasked with.

“What is it?” Eld asked.

“It’s a list of our chores,” Rose said, and read them out loud. “Eld, you’re in charge of the laundry, Gunther, you and Petra have bathroom duty, Oruo has stable duty, and I have kitchen duty.”

Oruo groaned slightly. The stables were the least favorite chore to do, except if you’re the Corporal. He seemed to get some sort of satisfaction from cleaning. “We better get going then,” Gunther said, heading off towards the bathrooms.

Rose walked to the kitchen and found Petra there. “Petra, are you doing alright?”

“Yep! I’ll be heading to the women’s bathrooms in a sec; I just want to tell you your kitchen duties. So first you have to clean the kitchen, then you make dinner. After dinner, you clean the dishes and stuff.” Petra smiled. “So, that’s about it. Think you got it?”

“Yep!” Rose said, smiling back. Petra limped away and Rose got to work. Starting on finding a mop, broom, and dustpan, of course. The floors were filthy, with breadcrumbs and potato peelings everywhere. “Dear God, when was the last time the kitchen got cleaned?” Rose mumbled to herself.

“I don’t know, I think the last good cleaning it got was last week.” A deep voice said, causing Rose to jump, falling into a cabinet.

“Commander, sir!” Rose squeaked, jumping up quickly and saluting. “Is something the matter?”

The commander smiled. “Nothing. Are you all right? You took a pretty bad fall.”

“Oh, yes, I’m perfectly fine, sir,” Rose said. “What brings you here?”

Erwin shook his slightly. “Oh, right. Well, I wanted to return your medical papers.” He said, holding out said papers. “I don’t need them anymore.”

Rose nodded and took the papers. “Thanks, sir.” She said, and Erwin nodded once, then walked out of the kitchen. Rose placed the papers onto the counter absentmindedly, and returned to cleaning. After she mopped the floors, she wiped down the counters and cabinets. Then, she used baby oil to make the fridge and metal handles on the cabinets shine. Taking a step back, Rose admired her handiwork for about a minute, and then she returned to her chore of cooking dinner.

Opening the fridge, Rose scanned the shelves of vegetables and the occasional meat packet. There wasn’t much she could make, but she decided on a vegetable and chicken stir-fry. It would be pretty simple. All she had to do was to find the frying pan. Searching through the cabinets, she found nothing to aid her. Continuing her search, she broadened her horizons to the shelves above her head. Alas, she was too short, even with her five-foot-five-inches stature. Time to change her plan and find a stool or a taller person.

Rose set out through the hall Commander Erwin had left through not too long before. She hoped she could find him since he was clearly tall enough to reach the shelf, and he’d probably know where the frying pan is anyway. As she turned a corner, Rose bumped into someone. Scurrying up to her feet, Rose apologized profusely. “I’m very sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

“It’s quite alright! Say, aren’t you the new girl?” Rose looked at the person she bumped into. It was a brunette, tall person with glasses. To their right was a tall man with sandy blonde hair and a worried expression.

“Oh, yes, I’m Rosalie. You can call me Rose if you’d like.” Rose smiled at the tall person. Now here was someone who could reach the shelf.

“I’m Hanji, and this is my assistant, Moblit!” The person said, grinning. “I’m a Squad Leader, but you don’t need to salute. Since you were also in a position of superiority…in fact, I think you were in a position higher than me…I don’t need a salute. I’d do it if Levi were here though. He’s grumpy.”

Rose smiled blankly at Hanji’s high energy. Shaking her head slightly, she quickly asked the much-needed question before Hanji could start talking again. “Could I ask a very small favor?”

“Sure!” Hanji grinned. “In return, you can help me with my research!”

Rose put out a hand, smirking. “It’s a deal. Now…I can’t find the pots and pans in the kitchen for the life of me, and I have a stinking suspicion that they’re on the top shelf that I can’t reach.”

Hanji grabbed it and shook it enthusiastically while laughing. “Well, that’s annoying. I’m a little too short to reach them either, but I’m sure Moblit can, being that freaking tall person he is.”

Rose chuckled quietly and Moblit smiled nervously. “Hanji…” he started to say, but he was cut off abruptly as Hanji pulled him and Rose down the corridor.

“Come on! Let’s go get those pots and pans!” they cheered, and Rose followed along, still trying to wrap her head around the amount of energy Hanji held.

“You’ll get used to it…maybe…” Moblit whispered to Rose, as if he had read her thoughts. “I didn’t, but maybe you will.”

Rose smiled at him. “I have a younger brother, and he has so much energy. I think I’m used to at least some amount of high energy.”

\-----

The journey to find the pots and pans had been successful, and Rose was finally able to cook dinner. Unfortunately, Hanji and Mobit stayed in the kitchen to keep her company, which would not help Rose’s decreasing energy. “So what do you like to do?”

“Well, I like to sing, cook, and paint. Let’s see what else…” Rose mused as she stirred the chicken. “I’m partial to reading, and I do enjoy paperwork sometimes.”

“Ew, how can you stand paperwork?” Hanji stuck out their tongue playfully. “That’s what Moblit likes to do, aside from keeping us safe. It’s kind of boring.”

Rose laughed quietly. “Well, I think it’s because I get to sit down for a bit and write.”

Hanji laughed maniacally. “Ohh, you’ll be doing plenty of writing since you’ll be helping me out with experiments and research.”

“Is that what you like to do, Hanji?” Rose asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

“Yep! I love researching titans and experimenting. Levi hates it though. He complains that I’m super messy or something.”

“That’s because you are, Hanji…” Moblit muttered.

Rose chuckled. “I’m not particularly neat either. I don’t try to make messes, and if I do I clean them up. I don’t keep everything organized, though.”

Hanji crowed, and Moblit covered his ears slightly. “Hear that, Moblit?” they grinned. “Rose gets me!”

Hanji continued harassing poor Moblit as Rose finished frying the vegetables and chicken. As she dished out the food onto the plates, Hanji turned her attention back to Rose. “Rose, what position were you in again?” she asked, then continued expanding. “In the Garrison, I mean.”

“I was a squad captain.” Rose answers simply. As she returned to the stove, she turned it off, taking the bread she placed in there out. Handing the toasted slices to Hanji and Moblit, she took a bite out of the other for herself.

“Huh? What’s this for?” Hanji asked, but didn’t complain otherwise, taking a huge bite out of the bread.

“Oh, it’s for helping get the frying pan and sticking around to keep me company,” Rose explains. Hanji nodded once, accepting the explanation, and grabbing Rose’s hand they pull her down the other hall.

“Hanji? What are you doing?” Moblit asked, worried about his superior’s behavior.

“She’s gotta help me with my experiments! There are still a few minutes to dinner!” Hanji grinned maniacally, and Rose closed her wide-open mouth. She sighed, knowing she’s going to have to get used to this.

\----- 

More than a few minutes have passed since Rose was dragged to Hanji’s office. In fact, it had been exactly an hour and a half, and dinner was over. Rose had to get back to the kitchen to clean up, but Hanji just wasn’t giving her an opening. Rose had to print some reports, help Hanji clean some accidental experiments that…blew up. Rose sighed, but Hanji interrupted even that. “Rose! Can you hand me the sodium bicarbonate?”

Rose got out of the desk chair wearily, and stretched for a second, hearing her bones pop. “All right, here it is.” She said, spinning around, grabbing the compound from the shelf behind her. Once she turned around she leaned over the desk to hand the small bottle to Hanji, but the door was kicked open before Hanji could take it. Startled, Rose let out a petite shriek and dropped the bottle. The fuming Corporal Levi stared Rose down apathetically.

“Why are you not in the kitchen? You’re supposed to be cleaning up.”

Rose stood and saluted quickly, and then hurried out the door apologizing. “I’m sorry. I got caught up. I’ll go now.” Before she could get far, however, the shorter man had caught her shirt, pulling her back.

“There’s no need, I set Oruo to clean it. He needed to anyway. He messed up the stables.”

Rose then raised her eyebrow. “Then why did you-”

Levi cut her off immediately. “You need to show up for your chores, and I had to tell you.”

Hanji rolled their eyes. “Levi, don’t be mean,” they whined, continuing with the complaining, “since I dragged her into helping me with my experiments.”

“Shut up, four eyes.” The short and rude reply didn’t faze Hanji at all. Rose just stared at the bickering two, and slowly edged out the doorframe. Before she could get far, however, Levi caught her in the act again. “Oi, where do you think you’re going” He sneered, and Rose sighed and then turned around again.

“Sorry, sir,” Rose said, albeit a little sarcastically. “I’ll just stay here and listen to you and Hanji quarrel like two-year-olds.”

Hanji laughed, but Levi glared, then scoffed and shook his head. “Go to bed. Tomorrow you have to train the new cadets.”

Rose nodded. “Yes, sir.” She finally was able to leave the hallways, and that she did with haste.

As she left, she could hear Hanji and Levi arguing about the cleanliness of Hanji’s office. “Wait a minute, Jäger.” Rose winced at her foiled escape but turned around nonetheless. “I have your punishment for not showing up to chores.”

Rose sighed. “What is it?”

“Clean Hanji’s office. It’s a mess.” Rose nodded.

“Sure.” Rose nodded.

Levi left, his job finished. Hanji smiled. “I actually have to go to chat with Erwin, but feel free to read any of the books on my bookshelf if you’re bored.”

Rose smiled and thanked them as Hanji and Moblit went out the door. Turning, she sighed at the mess and began her work cleaning. Starting with the bookshelf, Rose stacked the books on the floor near her and dusted the shelf off. Once she finished, she replaced the books in alphabetic order, and then started on the desk. Rose didn’t go through the papers since she wasn’t supposed to, but she did stack them neatly, and then straightened the pens and blank sheets of notebook paper.

“Hanji?” A tall, bearded man poked his head through the doorframe. He didn’t notice Rose, but she didn’t notice.

“Oh, she’s not here,” Rose said. “I think she was going to Erwin’s office.” Now the man noticed Rose, and stepped closer, breathing in deeply. Shocked, Rose took a step back, but he followed, still sniffing. Standing up straight again, he smirked and chuckled. “Um…” Rose was still in shock.

“Hm.” The man hummed back, and then they had a humming match.

“Uh.”

‘Hm.”

“Uh.”

Before they could get any further, Erwin poked his head in the door. “Hanji?”

Rose took the opportunity to remove herself from the sniffing man’s vicinity. “She just left almost thirty minutes ago to go meet with you. Does that mean she didn’t?”

“No, but it’s fine.” Erwin then noticed Mike. “Oh, I see you’ve met Mike!”

“Yes…I did…?” Rose said, thinking about the strange encounter.

“Oh, don’t mind him. That’s just his way of meeting people.” The said man, Mike, then spoke up for the first time in a few minutes.

“Mint.”

Rose and Erwin turned to Mike. “Sorry?” Rose said, and Erwin laughed.

“He means you smell like mint.”

Rose was confused but smiled. “Thanks…I guess?”

“Well, Mike and I have to find Hanji. Tell Hanji to come to my office if she comes by.” Erwin smiled.

“Will do.” Rose smiled. Once they left, she returned to cleaning the floors and walls. This would take a while; Hanji’s office was the epitome of messy.

\----- 

It was three in the morning, and Rose was still cleaning Hanji’s office, and the Squad Leader hadn’t returned either. Rose sighed, slumping against the wall. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.

It was a beautiful day, the flowers were singing, the birds were swimming, and…wait…flowers can’t sing and birds can’t swim! Rose looked around, and there were bees the size of horses around. Suddenly the sky turned dark and she could see a dark shadow looming towards her with a mouth filled with sharp teeth move towards her face. Screaming she tried to run away, but the shadow had encased her legs. All she could do was- “Rose!” A loud voice yelled, and Rose woke up, shoving the person back.

“Stop it! I’m sorry!” she cried, and a different voice cut through her cries.

“What the fuck is the problem?” Before anyone could answer, hands grasped Rose’s arms, holding her still. Rose, not understanding, still thrashed until she was pinned down. “Oi. Look at me. Look at me.”

Rose stilled, but her hands were shaking. With wide eyes, she stared at Levi. Behind her was Hanji and Moblit, looking very worried. “Rose? What happened?” The former asked.

Rose tried to deflect it off. “It’s…nothing. I just had a bad dream. Nothing big.”

Levi scoffed. “Nothing big, my ass. You were convulsing on the ground.”

Rose shakily stood up. “It’s fine, alright?” She snapped. “I had a bad dream, I was tired. Leave it, please.”

Hanji opened her mouth, but Rose had already stormed off towards the room she shared with Petra. Levi glared at Hanji. “What happened?”

Hanji shrugged. “I have no idea. I went to have that meeting with Erwin, and when I returned around four-ish, she was already in that state.” She explained. “I wonder what happened?”

Levi rolled his eyes. “She’s hiding something, you idiot.” He said. “Now, I’m going to find out what if it’s the last thing I do.” He too stalked out the door, and Hanji turned to Moblit.

“Why do I have a bad feeling that this is going to end badly?”

Moblit sighed. “It may or may not. Rose’s probable sleep problems may affect the Survey Regiment, or it may not. We’ll have to see.”

Hanji nodded. “Yes…” they said, pushing up their glasses. “I guess time will tell.”

\----- 

“Rose, are you alright?” Petra asked. “You look…not good.”

“Yes, I’m aware.” Rose sighed. “Just a bit tired, that’s all.” She said, taking a sip of her soup and ignoring Levi’s hard stare. Standing up abruptly, she picked up her now-empty bowl. “I’m going to the bathroom.”

Levi rose too, murmuring something to Hanji. Rose noticed, and quickly went to the bathroom before he could follow. Unfortunately, Levi seemed to know what she was up too and knocked on the door. “Jäger. We need to talk.” Shoot. Rose needed an escape plan. Seeing a little window, she peeked out of it to see the training grounds. It was big enough to fit her. Opening it, Rose jumped up onto the sill and squeezed out, shutting the window behind her. Now on the training grounds, she waited around for the cadets to arrive.

“Miss Jäger?” A cadet approached her. “Are you our trainer today?” Rose got to her feet hurriedly.

“Yep. Let’s go.” With the cadet leading the way, Rose advanced towards the group of cadets. “Hello! I’m Rosalie Jäger, your trainer for today. Now, before we start, I’d like to get all your names.”

“I’m Nanaba.” The cadet who had approached Rose said.

“Gelgar.”

“Evie’s the name.”

“I’m Raquel and this is my twin Rachel.”

Rose nodded. “Great. Now, hand-to-hand combat. You probably remember this from your cadet days, so you know what to do. Since there are an odd number of people, I’ll be teaming up with one.” At their worried look, Rose laughed quietly. “Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you.”

They still were nervous, but broke up into pairs anyway. Nanaba teamed with Gelgar, and Raquel with Rachel. Evie was left, and she teamed with Rose. “Hello!” Rose said cheerfully, and Evie let a small smile out.

“Hi.” She said.

“Ready?” At Evie’s nod, Rose got into basic sparring position, Evie following suit. Suddenly, Rose jabbed at Evie’s shoulder, successfully hitting it. Evie stumbled back and Rose used that as an advantage and kicked her shin. Evie, however, was prepared, and jumped out of the way, kicking right back at Rose’s ribs. Rose dodged it, but the foot still grazed against her ribs, which still were sore from scraping the tree two days ago.

Grunting, Rose lunged forward, using her momentum to grab Evie’s arm and flipping the taller girl over her shoulder. Landing on the ground Evie groaned. “I yield.” She said, and Rose stood, holding a hand out to help Evie up.

“You alright?” Before Evie could answer, however, a sharp word filled the air.

“Jäger.” Rose groaned inwardly as she turned to face Levi, Hanji trailing behind him. “Come with me. Hanji will take over your training.” Rose sighed but complied, following him to his office. He opened the door and waited for her to go in before shutting the door. “Take a seat.”

Rose sat down. “Yes?” she asked, though she already knew why she was called there.

“What was up with that weird thing this morning?” Rose paused, looking for a plausible excuse. “Don’t give me some crap. I want the actual answer, Jäger.”

“I don’t see why you have to know,” Rose said, looking away. “It doesn’t affect my performance with fighting or using 3DMG.”

“Oh-h, but it might affect your performance with the other members of the Special Ops squad. Now tell me.”

Rose sighed, getting ready to tell. She was going to have to, but deep down she was praying for a distraction. Thankfully, her prayers were answered. Erwin opened the door right as Rose was about to speak. “Sorry to interrupt, Levi. I need to speak with you for a moment.”

Levi growled slightly but stood nonetheless. “Of course. Jäger, you’re dismissed.”

Rose took this distraction as a blessing and bolted out of the room. As she rushed down the hallway, she bumped into Moblit. She almost toppled over, but Moblit grabbed her arm to steady her. “Thanks, Moblit. Where are you headed?” Rose said, smiling at the taller male.

Moblit smiled back. “I was just about to get you. Hanji wants to borrow you for an experiment.” At Rose’s weirded out expression, he quickly clarified. “They’re not going to experiment on you, they just want your help.”

Rose nodded, laughing. “Alright! That’s not a problem. Lead the way.” Rose said, and Moblit complied.

“Now, I’d be careful with this experiment,” Moblit spoke worriedly. “Hanji’s experiments include the captured titans.”

Rose winced, remembering how long it took to subdue those titans. “Right. The five-meter and the ten-meter, correct?” At Moblit’s nod, she groaned. “They still have them?”

“Yes…Hanji even named them.”

Rose sighed. “Of course they did. What are the names?”

“The five-meter is Sagawa and the ten-meter is Calva.” Moblit said. “Now, don’t ask Hanji where the names come from…there will be a two-hour lecture if you do.”

“Noted,” Rose said, smiling slightly. “I will try not to invoke the passionate mode.”

As they approached the field, Hanji ran out to meet them. “So glad you came, Rose!” They exclaimed, grabbing Rose’s hand and pulling her along. “I think Sagawa and Calva are super excited to meet you!”

Rose smiled awkwardly. “I’m sure they are…” she murmured, but Hanji didn’t hear, and shoved her in front of Sagawa.

“Sagawa, meet Rosalie!”

“Oh Lordy!” In response, the titan lunged at Rose, almost snapping her in the process. The ropes held it back, but Rose still fell over in shock.

Hanji laughed maniacally while walking very close to Calva. “Don’t worry, Sagawa’s just showing how excited he is!”

Rose’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “Squad Leader Hanji! Not so close!” Moblit yelled, and Calva snapped at Hanji. Hanji darted away laughing.

“Ooh, you almost got me there, Calva!” Hanji grinned. “That was close!”

Rose stared at the risk-taking Squad Leader with a mixture of shock and admiration. Moblit was currently giving his superior a lecture on titan safety, containing “it’s great that you want to learn more and are willing to be so close just to learn, but Jesus Christ could you please stay back a safe distance.”

“Oh, calm down, Moblit!” Hanji said. “It’s fine, my babies won’t hurt me!”

Rose sighed, and Moblit panicked even more. “Hanji that’s not true! You almost got killed by it not five minutes ago!”

“Not ‘it,’ Moblit! It’s Calva!” Moblit rolled his eyes so hard Rose thought they were going to pop out of his head.

“I don’t give a care about the names, Hanji! You need to be more careful!”

Hanji opened their mouth to start arguing about the importance of names, but Erwin came in. “Rose, Moblit, Hanji, could you come to my office, please?”

Rose’s eyes widened. Did Levi…nah, he couldn’t have. Moblit looked equally as confused, but Hanji smiled. “Sure, Erwin!” As they made their way to the office, Rose thought hard about why she would be called to Erwin’s office. She didn’t show up for chores, but that didn’t seem like something that would require the attention of Erwin. Neither did running away from Levi. Sure, she disobeyed Levi and totally ignored him, but it wasn’t that serious. He would have talked to her himself.

Once they entered the office, Rose noticed the shelf first. It held a picture frame that contained a picture of Erwin with Nile Dok, the Military Police commander. But after that, the reason why Rose was here cleared his throat. Yep, Levi spilled the events of this morning to Levi. Rose sighed, closing her eyes briefly. “Please take a seat.” Erwin’s voice cut through her jumbled thoughts, and all three sat. There were only two seats since Erwin and Levi occupied the other two, so Rose sat on the floor.

“Rose, you can have my seat,” Moblit said, rising, and Rose looked up at him.

“Are you sure?” He nodded.

“Yep. I’m taller so it makes sense.” Rose smiled.

“Thanks.” She said and sat in the offered seat.

Erwin leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on the neat and clean desk in front of him. “Now, who would like to speak first?” said, looking at Hanji, Moblit, and Rose with his intense blue eyes. ‘Damn it, Levi,’ Rose thought, glaring at the shorter male. He glared back with equal intensity, and Erwin cleared his throat. “Now, don’t be mad at him, Rose-”

His attempt at calming her down was in vain, and she changed the target of her glare to him. “You have no right to say that, Commander Smith, sir.”

“Why is that?”

Rose sighed, and just barely refrained from rolling her eyes. “Have you had someone tell a secret of yours to someone? A secret that you didn’t even tell that person?”

Levi opened his mouth to speak, but Erwin beat him to it. “What? Levi didn’t tell me anything about some secret. Just that Hanji made you do something else instead of your chores. What secret?”

Oh shit, Rose messed up. “Oh…uh…” she stammered, and Levi rolled his eyes.

“Well, I was going to tell him that too, so might as well.” Rose opened her mouth to shut him up, but it was too late. “Rose was having convulsions on the floor earlier today when asleep. She refuses to tell me shit about it.”

Rose sighed, leaning back in her chair and looking at the ceiling. Hanji cast her a look of empathy, and Moblit looked down at his hands. “Well, Rose, would you like to tell us about that?”

Rose sighed, returning her focus to Erwin’s concerned face. “I have somniphobia. Happy?”

“What the hell is somniphobia?” Hanji answered this question for Rose.

“It’s the fear of sleeping, Levi.”

“Why-” Rose knew the question was coming and had an answer before the question was asked.

“I get nightmares very easily,” Rose answered, sighing, “ever since I was a child, actually. I developed a fear early on and now I avoid sleeping. Can I go now?”

Erwin and Levi sighed simultaneously. “Yes, go on. Hanji and Moblit, please stay a bit.”

Rose got up from her chair so quickly she knocked it over. “Sorry, sir.” She mumbled, picking up then leaving just as fast as she stood up.

As she left, Levi left as well, easily catching up to her. “Hey, Jäger,” Grabbing her shoulder he turned Rose to face him and continued speaking, “Look, we have to know these things, alright?”

Rose sighed, then smiled fakely at Levi. “Yep! No hard feelings, Corporal.”

Levi rose an eyebrow. “Don’t give me that bull, Jäger. I know you don’t appreciate it.”

Rose looked away slightly. “It’s fine. I won’t hold it against you. I can’t say that I’ll like you immensely, but I won’t kill you or anything.”

Levi smirked slightly. “Not killing me sounds good.” He quipped.

Rose allowed a smile. “Deal.” She said, holding out her hand for him to shake, and he did so.

Rose left, thinking about what happened that day. It started out horribly, that was true. But it did end on a fairly good note, she guessed. She wasn’t furious with Levi, she was just mad and annoyed. She hated having to show her fears off to the world, but sometimes she had to.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hshfjejcjgjd this one is so baaaaaaddddddddddddddd ugh there's an attempt of me trying to be artistic with my words but it fails

It had been five years since she joined the Scouting Regiment, and Rose had adjusted. Today was the day she would see her brother and sister again! Since she had extensive training with the Special Ops, she wasn’t able to go visit them, instead having to rely on letters. Rose, having been awake through the night, was already dressed. Excited, she waited until seven, and as soon as Petra woke up, Rose threw her the belts and harnesses. “Woah, there, Petra. Are you really that excited to see your brother?”

“Yep! I haven’t seen him in six years, remember? He must have grown so big!” Rose sighed, reminiscing to ten years ago.

“Rose!” Eren called and Rose reached up to put the cleaned bed sheet on the clothesline. Rose laughed at her younger brother wearing their father’s hat.

“Aw, you look adorable!” she teased her brother, knowing he hated being called that.

“Rose!” Eren pouted, and Rose laughed gain, dumping the sheet onto Eren’s head.

“Now you’re a ghost!” Eren pulled the sheet off his head, grinning up at his sister.

“Boo!” He shouted. Rose picked her brother up, swinging him around. As they both giggled, they didn’t notice Carla smiling at her two children.

“Oi, you two. Get out already. We have to talk.” Levi spoke through the door, startling Rose.

“Yes, sir!” Petra called out. Rose and Petra exchanged glances, giggling as they opened the door.

In front of them was Levi. “Alright, so there are news. Petra knows already, but she wasn’t allowed to tell you.”

Rose cocked her head to one side. “What’s up?”

“Your brother, Eren, is a titan.” Rose’s eyes widened, but she laughed.

“Don’t joke around. It’s not very funny.”

“He’s serious, Rose…” Petra said, and Rose turned to her. “Remember when Wall Rose got fixed by secret means? That was Eren as a titan plugging the hole.”

Rose’s mouth dropped open, and a few seconds passed, the quiet booming in her ears. After she processed the information, she dropped to the ground in a dead faint.

\-----

Rose opened her eyes, and she was back in her bed with the Special Ops Squad and Levi peering at her. Sitting up, she rubbed her head and then asked the inevitable question. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Levi sighed. “We didn’t want to worry you, and we needed to make sure he was safe.”

Rose narrowed her eyes. “He’s my brother. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure I, as his guardian, have to know what happens to him.”

Levi shrugged. “Don’t ask me, ask Erwin. He told us not to.”

“And when do you abide by the rules at all times?” Rose said, annoyed. Levi rolled his eyes, deflecting the question.

“We need to get to the cafeteria. Let’s go.” Rose huffed but followed the instructions nonetheless. As they walked through the hall, Rose pondered the last few years. Since she never had time to visit home, so many things could have happened. Eren would be fifteen now…what if he got a girlfriend? It’s not like he’d actually tell her. Rose didn’t think she would be able to handle it. It would be crazy to even think such a thought.

“What are you thinking about?” Oruo asked.

“I’m just thinking of how different Eren would be now,” Rose said, “He probably grew taller than me.”

“Dammit,” Rose heard the Corporal curse, “I don’t want someone else to be taller than me.”

Rose and Petra laughed quietly, but they shut up quickly at Levi’s glare. Eld and Gunther snickered at their misfortune, and Rose sighed but chuckled along. She really had grown close to the four others. She shared the same sense of humor with Eld, the same interests as Gunther, she and Petra were the only girls in the squad, and Petra knew a secret of Oruo’s. Now, Rose wasn’t as close to Levi, but she harbored a secret crush on him. He may have a foul mouth, but his love for his subordinates and superiors touched Rose in a way she didn’t think would happen.

Consumed in her thoughts she didn’t notice everyone stopping and bumped into Erwin. “Oh!” she said, snapping into a salute. “I didn’t think I’d be bumping into you a second time, sir.” She joked, recalling the time she left Pyxis’s office the week before she transferred. Apparently, Erwin remembered as well.

“Yes, it’s quite the coincidence since it happened exactly six years ago.”

Rose laughed. “Quite strange indeed.” Quickly growing serious, she looked Erwin straight in the eyes. “Now, why didn’t you tell me Eren’s a titan?”

Erwin, who is usually cool as a cucumber, visibly swallowed. Rose could be quite scary when angered. “I didn’t want to worry you. Also, Pyxis asked me to keep it from most people.”

Rose raised an eyebrow. “You told the Special Ops Squad, which, as I recall, I’m a part of. I’m also Eren’s legal guardian, so I have a right to know what happens to him.”

Erwin looked away briefly. Electric blue eyes met stormy grey ones for a split second before the blue turned to meet the mint ones staring back at the blue eyes. “I apologize. It won’t happen again.”

Rose smiled, suddenly happy again. “Alright! Now let’s go eat!”

Hanji, who had just joined the crowd cried out, “Amen to that!” They all laughed, except for Levi as usual, and continued down the hallway to the delicious food waiting for them.

\-----

It was nighttime, and Rose peeked out of the side of the stage Erwin was on. She looked through the crowd for familiar faces. She saw plenty of new ones, and then…there he was. Eren. He looked so much older now, and he grew taller as well. To his right was Mikasa, and to his left was Armin. The rest, she didn’t know. “Is that your brother?” Petra whispered, looking at Eren.

“Yep.” Rose smiled. “He looks so much older now.”

Petra smiled. “Once the initiation is over, you have a few minutes. You can go catch up with him then.” At Rose’s grin, Petra tittered quietly.

Taking advantage of this information, Rose tiptoed off the stage. Once the crowd dispersed, she snuck up behind Eren and put her hands over his eyes. “Guess who, little bro.”

Eren spun around with a huge grin on his face. “Rose!” He laughed, hugging her. He had grown so much he lifted her off the floor slightly.

“Shoot, Eren, how tall are you know?” Rose laughed, hugging him back.

“Five foot, seven inches!” Eren proclaimed proudly. “I’m finally taller than you!”  
Rose sighed. “I knew this day was coming.” She said, groaning dramatically. “I guess you shall be dubbed Tall Person.”

Eren laughed. “You’re so weird, Rose.”

Rose smiled evilly. “You mean you forgot that?” she said, and Eren rolled his eyes at his sister’s behavior. Turning Rose faced Mikasa and Armin. “Hi, Mikasa, Armin. Lordy, you two grew too…Well, Armin, not as much.”

Armin sighed. “I know.” He said. “I guess I’ll always be short now.”

Rose laughed. “Now, don’t be a bummer. You’ll grow with time…Maybe.”

Armin chuckled slightly at that. Mikasa allowed a small smile past her lips as she hugged her sister. “It’s good to see you again.” She said, and Rose grinned.

“Likewise, Mikasa,” Rose said, but she saw Petra waving at her. “I have to go. I’ll see y’all around. I need to train you guys anyway, so I’ll see you soon.”

“Bye, Rosie,” Eren said, waving at his retreating sister.

“Who was that, Jäger?” Eren sighed at the taller male, Jean Kirschtein, behind him.

“It’s my sister, Kirschtein.”

“She’s pretty cute…maybe-” Eren cut him off before Jean could finish his thought.

“She’s also ten years older than you.” Jean groaned, and that was the last thing Rose heard before she left with her squad.

\-----

“Alright, you little people…well, most of you guys are actually taller than me…never mind.” Rose said, looking at the new recruits. The tallest one caught her eye. “Especially you. What, are you six foot?”

“Bertl’s six foot three, actually.” The other taller male said.

Rose sighed. “Lovely. I think I’ll go stand with the short people to boost my pride.” Walking over, she grinned as a plan formulated. “Alright, line up shortest to tallest. No talking. Go.”

The cadets lined up rather slowly, and Rose sighed. “We have a lot to work on. Faster, y’all.” Finally, the cadets were in a line, and though it wasn’t straight, Rose allowed that to pass. “Now, starting from the shortest and ending with the tallest, state your full name.”

“Krista Lenz!” The short blonde at the start of the line said, smiling.

“Conny Springer!” The slightly taller boy with shaved hair stated, grinning like an idiot.

“Armin Arlert.” Rose smiled minimally at her brother’s best friend.

“I’m Sasha Braus!” The brown-haired girl said, and Rose chuckled under her breath.

“Heard quite a bit about you…Potato Girl.” Rose said, using Sasha’s nickname.

“Wha…EREN!” She yelled. “You betrayed me!”

Eren shrugged. “You made the deal with Conny, not me.”

“Alright, moving on.” Rose stopped the fight before it even happened.

“I’m Eren, as you know already.”

“Oh, do I?” Rose rolled her eyes.

“Mikasa.” Rose grinned, unable to stop it from appearing.

“Ymir.”

“Jean Kirschtein.”

“Horseface.” Eren whispered, and Rose and Jean spun to face him.

“I don’t want to hear that from you, you suicidal bastard!”

Rose glared. “You two shut up. There will be no name-calling. Eren, I expected better from you. Jean, don’t be provoked. Now get back in line.”

Jean and Eren huffed but did as she said. “I’m Reiner Braun.” The tall male who had introduced his friend as ‘Bertl’ said.

“Berthodlt Fubar.” The tallest said, looking down at his shoes.

Rose smiled. “Great. Now that we all know each other, I’ll be pairing you guys up to fight. Let’s see…Eren with Jean. No name-calling, you two. Mikasa with Ymir, Reiner with Sasha, Armin with Bertholdt, and Krista with Conny.”

In their pairs, Rose looked over them all. Eren and Jean were arguing, Mikasa had Ymir pinned, Sasha was doing some weird bird move as Reiner laughed, Conny was heading in the wrong direction as Krista looked on in confusion, and Armin and Berthodlt were chatting while practicing.  
“Miss Rose?” Rose looked around to see Evie. They had grown close over six years. Evie looked up to Rose as a mentor, and Rose thought of Evie as a little sister.

“Yes, Evie?”

“I think I can beat you! Can I spar with you again?”

Rose thought about it. Beating her in a fight was Evie’s greatest wish. “Well, let the cadets finish sparring first, and then you can. Evie nodded, standing back a distance.

Once the cadets all finished, Rose walked up to Armin, who was conversing with Eren and Mikasa. “Pardon me, Armin, could you referee a match for me?” Armin jumped slightly at Rose’s sudden presence.

“S-sure.” Eren and Mikasa trailed after Armin and Rose as they approached Evie.

“Ready, Evie?” Evie nodded, getting ready.

“GO!” At Armin’s signal, Rose and Evie circled each other. Evie made the first move, punching at Rose. Rose easily sidestepped, but Evie expected that, throwing a roundhouse kick at Rose back. It connected, and Rose fell, but before Evie could make another move, Rose flipped back onto her feet and punched at Evie. Evie caught her fist, and Rose threw her other fist. Evie grabbed it, so Rose quickly moved her arms back, causing Evie to lean forward slightly. It wasn’t much, but Rose moved her knee up, hitting Evie square in the ribs. As Evie fell to the ground, groaning, Armin delivered the verdict. “All right, Rose won.”

Evie nodded, accepting defeat while grumbling and Rose offered her a hand to help up. “Evie, remember to block. You also need to understand your enemy’s attack system. I beat you all the time because you forget my usual attack system.” Evie nodded, and Rose offered a smile and a compliment. “That was a smart move in the beginning, however. Nice job, Evie.”

Evie grinned, thanking Rose and running off to who-knows-where. “That was pretty cool, Rose,” Eren said.

Rose laughed at her younger brother and pretended to flip her hair. “I know, I know, I’m amazing.”

“Amazing? Nah. Cool? Sure, I guess.” Eren teased her right back, unfazed.

Rose rolled her eyes, smacking him lightly on the back of his head. “Go do your chores or whatever you do in your spare time.”

Eren ran off, Armin and Mikasa close behind. Rose sighed fondly, and a voice behind her startled her. “You seem close to your brother.”

“Ah! Petra! Don’t scare me like that.” Rose said, gasping. Petra smiled apologetically and Rose answered the question. “We are, despite the age difference. Eren didn’t have many friends as a child, so I was his usual playmate until he met Armin. Even so, we still played together.”

Petra sighed wistfully. “That would be so fun. I’m an only child, as you know, so it’s just me and my dad.” She said. “He’s nice, but sometimes I wished for someone my own age to hang out with.”

Rose smiled. “Well, you have the whole Special Ops Squad now!”

Petra laughed. “Yeah, I do. It’s great. You know, Rose, you should meet my dad sometime. It’ll be sweet!”

Rose grinned. “I’d love to!”

As they continued talking, they headed back to the main building. It was a sunny day, and quite beautiful as well, but a certain shorty was waiting to ruin the day. “Jäger, Rall, there’s a meeting. Come on.”

Rose and Petra looked up in surprise but followed Levi down the hallway anyway. When they reached the meeting room, Hanji, Moblit, Gunther, Oruo, Eld, Eren, and Erwin were already there. “Ah, glad Levi found you,” Erwin said. “I apologize for not telling you ahead of time.”

Petra smiled. “It’s fine, Commander. What’s the meeting about?”

Erwin looked down at the papers in front of him for a brief second. “It’s a plan to take back Shiganshina.”

Rose’s eyes widened. “Seriously?” She asked, and Eren met eyes with her before nodding. “How?”

“We’ll be using Eren’s titan powers to seal the wall.” Rose’s mouth dropped open, and she closed it as quickly as it had opened. Eren allowed himself a small snort of laughter, and Hanji looked at him curiously.

“What’s so funny, Eren?” They asked, and Eren looked up, caught.

“Oh, it’s just that when Rose was younger, whenever she was startled her mouth would drop. Sometimes it would take her a few minutes to close it. It’s a little funny to see she still has that habit.”

Rose sighed as Hanji cackled like a witch. “Dear lord, that’s hilarious.”

“Yes, hilarious. I’m dying of laughter.” Rose deadpanned, and Hanji stop laughing, though she couldn’t stop the smile. “Okay, so what’s the plan?”

Erwin turned back to the papers as he explained it in detail. “Now, let’s see, we’ll be going through the forest of giant trees. Most people will be going around, but some will stay in the trees to make sure titans don’t attack you, the Special Ops traveling through the woods.” After Erwin had confirmation Rose understood, he continued. “Eren will be traveling with you, and you are to keep him safe at all costs.”

Oruo asked a question that had been in Rose’s mind for a little. “What about his titan ability?”

“He may only use it when in grave danger.” Rose nodded. That seems reasonable.

“That pretty much concludes the meeting. Thank you all for coming.” Rose stood with the others and they all slowly filed out of the room. The mission was upcoming, and they’re going to have to prepare as much as they could. If they don’t, serious things could happen.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahfhfhdhh I told u this sucks

“Ready, Rose?” Eren whispered to his sister beside him. It was the day of the mission. The ending of this could tell Eren’s future.  
Rose looked at her younger brother. “No.” She answered truthfully, and Eren laid his head on her shoulder.

  
“Same.” He said. “I’m scared.”

  
Rose put her arm around his shoulders and put her head on his. “We’ll get through it together.” Eren looked up at his older sister and only just noticed her eye bags, her tired face, and her chapped lips.

  
“Rose?”

  
“Hmm?”

  
“How many hours do you sleep a day?” Rose sighed.

  
“Eren, do we have to have this conversation again? Now’s not really the time.” Rose tried, but Eren wasn’t giving up.

  
“Rose, since you’re tired, your reflexes may not be as fast. I don’t want to get hurt.” Eren said, and Rose glared. He wasn’t letting go though. “Why don’t you try sleeping again-”  
Rose had enough and cut him off.

“Goddammit, Eren, enough. I’m fine. Back off.” She said, and Eren did as he was told, though he planned on bringing it up again after the mission.

  
“Advance!” Erwin called out, and Rose rode with the others, surrounding Eren.

  
Now, Rose didn’t really go on missions, as most of her time was spent training the new recruits. This was the first time she really went out of the walls. As she rode along on her horse, Lillian, she took in the scenery. It really was a beautiful world. The sky was bright blue, and the white clouds contrasted nicely against it. “Rose, this is the first time you’ve ever really been outside the walls, right?” Eld’s question snapped Rose out of her thoughts.

  
Rose looked behind her at the male who posed the question. “Oh, yep! I’ve seen it from up on the walls before, though.”

  
“That doesn’t count.” Oruo scoffed, and Rose rolled her eyes while smiling.

  
“Well, I’m out now,” Rose said.

  
“Isn’t it so much prettier?” Petra asked, and Rose was about to respond when Levi interrupted.

  
“Not to ruin the happy-happy-fun-time, but we need to veer to the right.” He said as he glanced at the green flare dotting the sky. The Special Ops Squad followed his instruction without fail, and this went on for quite a few hours.

\-----

  
Finally, as they neared the forest, they saw a giant titan running after them. “What the-” Rose gasped, and she looked frantically around at the rest of the squad. Eren was looking scared, as did the other members. Levi, however, still had that apathetic stare on his face.

  
“Go through the forest,” was his command, and more followed, “and don’t stop. Your only objective is to keep Eren safe and to get through the forest.” Rose swallowed a bitter liquid but continued on. Levi must know what he’s doing, right? As they rode through the forest, the titan followed him. Suddenly, Rose could hear screams. She looked back and saw the Survey Corps members fighting the titan. But the titan just attacked them, killing them all with ease. Just then, Rose noticed something strange. The titan looked female…but all the titans Rose saw had male bodies. “Keep looking forward.”

  
Rose turned her head, ignoring every scream, every plead. She closed her eyes, pushing back the thoughts that consumed her. Once she opened her eyes again, they were steely. She tuned out everything, concentrating on riding her horse. She could faintly hear Eren yelling about something and then Petra replying. Suddenly, she could hear a familiar scream, and Rose’s head snapped back. Evie attacked the Female Titan but didn’t get very far. As she tried to slice off the fingers, the titan grabbed her and smashed her into a tree. Right before she did, however, Evie cried out to Rose. “Rose! Hurry!” Right after the words came out of her mouth, she was scraped into the tree.

  
“Evie!” Rose screamed unconsciously. Rose’s head turned back facing the front, her face in a state of shock.

  
“Rose…” Eren said, but Rose ignored him. In a state of shock, she kept on riding without thinking. It was like the world had slowed down around her, but her mind had not slowed down. In fact, it increased. She was thinking about the strange female titan. It seemed that the titan knew of some battle tactics, so the titan was probably a human as well, like Eren. The titan seemed to know a lot more than he did, actually.

  
“Rosalie Jäger.” Levi’s voice cut through her loud thoughts booming inside her head. “Concentrate. Focusing on losses is not going to help. Think of your brother.”

  
Rose glanced behind her shoulder, and seeing her brother’s frightened look, she returned to her resolute state of mind. She was going to keep him safe no matter what.

\-----

Riding alongside the squad without any signs of the titan slowing down, Rose was starting to get worried. When will they get out of the forest? When will the titan stop? What was Erwin’s plan? As they continued, Rose heard loud bangs. She turned her head around in surprise to see the titan caught in a bunch of wires. Confused, she kept on riding until the rest of the squad stopped. “Alright, now, switch to 3DMG. I have things to take care of, so just…”

  
Rose tuned him out. She would just follow the example of the other members, no biggie. When everyone used their 3DMG to go into the trees, Rose did so too. As the other members sat and talked, Rose contemplated the titan. It seemed to be very smart and calculative. Where did the person inside learn to fight? It was very strange, and Rose was confused. “Rose.” Rose’s head snapped up to look at Eld. “We’re going to the smoke signal that the Corporal sent out.”

  
Rose got up, stretching slightly. “Okay. Let’s go.” As they sped along, Gunther led the way. After a few minutes, Gunther saw a figure. It wasn’t moving like Levi, but Gunther thought it was. Before Rose could warn Gunther, the figure cut off his head. “Gunther!” Rose and the other screamed. “What the hell?”

Suddenly, there was a flash of lightning and the titan from before stood in front of them.  
“Rose! Take Eren away from it! We’ll get rid of the threat!” Eld yelled at Rose, and she nodded her understanding. Grabbing Eren’s arm, she pulled him away. Eren was scared to death, but Rose kept leading him away. Suddenly, Eren looked behind him and cried out in pain. Rose looked, curious, but regretted the decision almost immediately. Eld was bitten in half, Petra had been smashed against a tree, and Oruo lay dead on the ground. Rose drew her blades, getting ready to fight the titan but before she could move, Eren bit his hand, causing him to turn into a titan and Rose got slammed into a tree because of the blast.

  
Sore, Rose could not move a muscle. She felt so stiff. After thirty minutes of lying there, she saw Eren and the titan fighting again. Eren was losing badly, and when his head was lobbed off, Rose screamed in shock. Seeing the titan close its mouth around Eren and take off compelled Rose to get up and use her 3DMG to fly towards the titan. Flying towards the titan, she aimed at the legs, but the titan swung the foot around, and Rose nearly got hit, dodging just in time. Grunting, she propelled herself off a tree, hooking onto the titan’s left shoulder. Using her momentum, she circled the titan, slicing through the eyes. Now that the eyes were down, Rose could take out the legs. Unhooking from the tree in front of her, Rose dropped. Before she hit the ground, she hooked onto the titan’s heel furthest from her. As she flew across the feet, she sliced off the tendons near the heel. The titan fell backward, and Rose propelled herself towards the mouth to slice it open and grab Eren.

  
Just before she reached the mouth, the titan’s hand swatted her away. “Damn.” Rose cursed. She forgot about the arms, so she went to slice the shoulder blades. Unfortunately, just as she got around the titan, it rose up and started running again. “What the- How did it heal the ankles so quickly?” Rose flew after the titan, but some movement caught her eye. Mikasa was flying at the titan. “Mikasa!” she called, and the said female looked down at her. “I’ll help you out.” At her short nod, Rose went straight for the shoulder blades. Instead of hooking onto the shoulder blades, as one would normally do, Rose hooked onto the nape to distract the female titan. It worked, as the arms moved to cover it. Rose sliced cleanly through the left arm, and it dropped. Mikasa went for the right arm, and that one dropped too. Before they could continue, however, a shorter figure stopped them.

  
“Oi, you two.” Rose looked up at Levi. “Wait a little. The titan is slowing down. It must be tired. When it completely stops, we can save Eren.” Rose and Mikasa nodded in unison and fell back.

  
After a while, the titan slowed down, and Levi gave the signal. Rose and Mikasa flew around on opposite sides, attracting the attention of the titan. As the titan aimed a kick, Levi attacked, and the titan threw a punch. Rose opened her mouth to warn Levi, but he used his infamous spin attack, moving up the arm. He was moving so fast the female titan didn’t have time to react. As he cut up the arms, Rose watched in awe.  
Suddenly, as the titan fell against the tree, Rose noticed Mikasa preparing to attack the now unarmed nape. Rose moved forwards right as the left hand rose. She pushed Mikasa away, colliding with the hand. Levi also moved forward to protect Mikasa, spraining his ankle but cutting the jaw of the titan. The mouth dropped open, and Levi grabbed Eren and retreated to a branch. “Mikasa, you can’t do that.” Rose scolded, turning to the younger female. “What would have happened if you got hurt? Then we would have lost you and Eren. I know you care about him– really, I do. I want to kill the titan because of what it did, but that was reckless, even for me.”

Mikasa looked away, and Rose sighed, turning to look at Eren. “He’s fine, just really smelly and messy,” Levi said, reading Rose’s thoughts.

  
“You think I give a frick about that?” Rose snapped. Levi rolled his eyes but stood, leaning on his right foot heavily. Rose sighed again. “Would you like me to carry Eren?”  
“No, it’s fine. He’s taller and heavier than you anyway.”  
Rose nodded. “Let’s go then.” She said, and the three of them took off.

\-----

“Rose, are you alright?” Hanji asked worriedly. “You’re bruised all over and I think your head is bleeding.”

  
Rose reached up and touched her forehead. When she brought her hand down, the red, shiny, and sticky liquid was all over her hand. “I’m fine, thanks.” She said. “Just as long as we get back safely. I can treat my injuries then.” The pain was not there since Rose was still in a state of shock.

  
“Okay…” Hanji trailed off. “Well, we have to get back as quickly as possible so that Erwin can write that report for the higher-ups.”  
Rose nodded and got on Lillian. She rode alongside the wagon that held Eren, next to Mikasa. As she rode on, titans were coming along the back, and since the wagons were filled with bodies, the titans were catching up.

  
“Levi, Rose! Deal with the titans!” Erwin called, and Rose pulled on the reins, turning the horse around. As she got closer, she noticed a man on the horse bringing a dead body that was being chased by the titan.  
“What in the actual heck!” Rose yelled at them. To busy to give them a full-on lecture, she hooked onto the right shoulder of the titan and swung around. Right as it tried to grab her, Rose released her hooks and anchored them in the nape. Flying forwards with her momentum, she cut deeply into the nape. The titan fell onto the ground and Lillian ran up. “Hey, Lillian. Let’s go catch up.” Rose whispered in the ear, and the horse sped forward.

  
Continuing forward, the titans were still there and catching up. Rose felt her fatigue and knew that they couldn’t keep fighting the titans without being left behind. Apparently, Levi knew the problem because he yelled at the two in the wagon. “Hey! Let the bodies go! Then the wagon will speed up.”

  
After a bickering session with the wagon soldiers, they reluctantly agreed, and the bodies flew out. Rose watched them fly by, and one caught her eye. It had ginger hair and…it was Petra. Rose choked, turning her head to face the front so that she could hide her tears. Lord, she didn’t even want to think about the Special Ops Squad…not now, when Eren was not well, and she was injured. She needed to focus, but her brain kept on returning to the deaths of her friends. “Rose? Eren’s awake.” Mikasa called back, and Rose turned her attention to her brother, riding forward and pushing the thoughts of death out of her head.

\-----

  
Rose sat in the infirmary, blank-faced, as nurses bustled around her tending to her wounds. Hanji was sitting beside her trying to talk to her, but Rose wasn't listening to her hyperactive friend. “Hey, Rose, are you hungry?” Rose murmured a no under her breath, but Hanji, as usual, paid no mind. “Okay, I’ll grab you some leftover sou…” Hanji trailed off. That was the wrong thing to say as Rose scrunched her nose and closed her eyes.

_“Alright, so Petra, why don’t you chop the onions? I’ll fry them after I add the carrots to the soup.” Rose directed Petra to the chopping board, where the onions waited._

  
_“Aw, man, does this mean I have to cry?” Petra joked, and Rose laughed._

  
_“Sorry, the others didn’t show up, so you’re left to do the dirty work.” Rose exaggerated._

_The soup took an hour, but when it was done, everyone enjoyed it, even the corporal. “Wow, this is so good!” Eld exclaimed._

  
_Rose and Petra smiled. “Thanks! I saved half the pot for leftovers so that you guys can continue to enjoy it, and Oruo won’t eat all of it.” Rose said, and Oruo scoffed._

  
_“Hey! I need my calorie intake!” At his exclamation, all the others laughed._

  
Rose sighed. After Hanji left, the nurses made her rest and it was now nighttime. She was supposed to stay in the hospital ward, but she wandered around to the cafeteria and sat at a table.

  
As she rested her head on the cool wood, she finally let herself cry. It wasn’t beautiful, princess-like crying that the movies show– it was a silent but ugly cry, reaching for the last bit of hope in her heart.

“Oi, Rose, why aren’t-” The man finally noticed her tears, and sat down next to her sighing. “Hey, it’s alright.”

  
Rose didn’t stop crying, and Levi gave her a few awkward pats on the back. “I’m sorry.” She sobbed. “I can’t seem to stop crying.”

  
“Hey, I already said that it’s fine. Calm down.”

  
Rose chuckled, wiping away her tears. “Sorry. I’ll get back to the hospital ward before the nurses kill me.”

  
“That’s against the protocol,” Levi stated, and Rose rolled her eyes.

  
“That was a joke.”

  
“I know. I made one too.” Levi retorted.

  
“Oh, really? I couldn’t tell. You have to work on your sarcasm.” Rose got up, stretching slightly, and walked down the hallway to the hospital ward. Levi followed behind closely.

  
“Are you sure you’re all right?” He asked, and Rose smirked.

  
“Is the great Corporal Levi Ackerman worried?”

  
“Oh, shut up. I’m allowed to be worried about my squad.” Rose laughed.

  
“It’s very becoming.” She said, bumping him with her shoulder, and he bumped right back.

  
“Are you flirting with me?”

  
“Maybe.” Rose’s answer was uncertain, but in her mind, she already had an answer…yes.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's actually really short

“Hi, Rose!” Eren bounded into the infirmary with a bunch of yellow blossoms. “These are for you!”

Rose took them and looked at them for half a second. “Eren, these are weeds.” She stated.

“What?” Eren’s face fell. “Reiner told me they’re buttercups!”

“Dandelions, actually. Can you put these in the kitchen? I can cook something with them.” Rose sighed at Eren’s long face. “I appreciate the thought, though.”

Eren smiled. “Great! Do you want to go find some actual flowers during the break?”

Rose nodded. “Sure. Maybe I can actually teach you what are flowers and what are weeds.” She teased her younger brother, who rolled his eyes and scoffed.

“Yeah, yeah, sure. I’ll go take the dandelions to the kitchen and kill Reiner.”

“Don’t kill people, Eren. It’s unbecoming of a young, single boy like you.” Rose said, and Eren groaned, leaving before Rose could tease him even more.

“Hi, Miss Rose…” Bertholdt entered the room. “I wanted to wish you a speedy healing.” He stuttered and held out some bluebells. He must have picked them in the woods earlier today.

Rose smiled at the tall male. “Thank you, Bertholdt.” She said, taking the flowers. “I appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem,” Bertholdt said, and Rose grinned. After he left, she chuckled.

“Poor boy has a crush on me.” She said to no one in particular as she lay back on her pillows.

“Well, that’s unfortunate.” Erwin’s deep voice caused Rose to bolt up.

“Lord, Erwin, sir, you scared me half to death!” Rose chuckled, saluting the best she could in bed.

“At ease. Sorry, Rose.” Erwin apologized with a small smile on his face. “I just wanted to let you know that you’re going to have to write a letter to the Trevor family. I chose you to write the letter because you were closest to Evie.”

“Yes, sir,” Rose said. “I’ll get that done soon.” Erwin left, but not before offering a ‘sorry’ and an ‘I hope you get better soon.’ Rose fell back down onto her pillow, thinking of the letter.

_Dear Mr. and Mrs. Trevor,_

_I regret to have to inform you that your daughter, Evie, has passed away on our 57th Expedition. On behalf of the Survey Regiment, I am deeply sorry for your loss. Please know that Evie’s death was not in vain, as we have learned more about titans, and have gotten closer to our goal._

_Evie was a great friend here. She was always a source of smiles and laughter around headquarters. Once, she got it into her head that she would throw a Christmas party, and a birthday party for Corporal Levi as well. It was an enjoyable and amazing party, and we all loved being there._

_Once again, we are deeply sorry for your loss. Evie’s memory will always be with us._

_Our condolences,_

_ Commander Erwin Smith_

_ Squad Captain Hanji Zoe_

_ Corporal Levi Ackerman_

_ Cadet Leader Rosalie Jäger_

"Cadet Leader. Do I even deserve that title?" Rose spoke to herself, finally falling back asleep.

\-----

“Alright, y’all.” Rose was out of bed and training the new recruits. “I’m not well enough to use 3DMG according to the nurses, but they didn’t say crap about hand to hand combat. Let’s pair up. Let me know if there’s not enough people.” The cadets stared at her. Sure, Rose was a sight to see, with her hair actually down for once and with a bandage on her waist, but she really didn’t care. “Get going.”

The cadets scrambled to find partners and begin. Rose leaned against the wall, carefully observing their attack system. They all were pretty basic, striking for the weak points, and it was quite boring, quite boring indeed. “Miss Rose?” At the sound of her name, Rose turned around. Krista stood before her in all her kind glory. “Commander Erwin wants you in his office.”

“Okay. Krista, can you go find Corporal Levi and get him to train these recruits? If not, get Hanji.” At her nod, Rose stood and yelled at the cadets. “Alright, hold your fighting! Krista’s going to get you a different instructor because I have to go somewhere.” Once they nodded their assent, Rose walked towards the office of Erwin.

“Who is it?”

“It’s Rose. You wanted to see me, sir?” Erwin nodded.

“Yes…so, I would like to promote you to squad leader.”

Rose’s eyes widened in shock. “Wha- why?” she asked curiously.

“You show good leadership skills, the cadets and even some of the others love your company and do I need to list more reasons?”

Rose shook her head. “No…thank you, sir.” Erwin smiled, dismissing her.

\-----

“Hey-y, Rose!” Rose spun around and saw Eren running towards her.

“Eren? What is it?” Rose turned and looked at her younger brother.

“Can you hide me? I accidentally got mud on Corporal Levi’s cravat and he’s going to kill me.”

Rose nodded. “Go n my room. It’s down the hall, first door on the right. Wait there for ten minutes.” Eren rushed off, and Rose loitered in the hallway until Levi came barreling through the doorway.

“AH, Levi!” Rose exclaimed, hooking her arm around his. “I was looking for you!” She dragged him down the hallway, her mind racing with excuses.

“What the- Jäger let me go.” Rose pretended not to hear him and continued pulling him away from Eren.

“So, I’m not sure if Krista found you but I’m not able to teach the recruits today can you do that thanks!” Rose talked really fast, and shoved him into the training yard, slamming the door shut behind him.

“Jäger your brat of a brother ruined my cravat!” He yelled through the door, and Rose opened it slightly, sticking her hand out. “Why the hell are you sticking your hand through the door?”

“Shut up, Levi. Yelling is so unbecoming of a single man like you. Give me your stupid cravat and I’ll wash it for you.”

Levi growled but complied with her request. “Fine, I’ll train the recruits, but I expect you to give Eren an appropriate punishment…Squad Leader.” Rose shivered.

“Okay.” She said, the shut the door and bolted away. “Eren!” she called when she was back in the hallway of her room. A mop of brown hair poked out of the door.

“Yeah?”

“He’s gone, but you did run from a superior, so you need a punishment.”

Eren narrowed his eyes. “But you’re not a superior.”

“Try again.” Eren’s eyes widened and he grinned.

“Seriously? That’s so cool! Congrats!” He exclaimed, and Rose grinned back.

“Thanks! But don’t try to get away with punishment. I have laundry duty, so you’re helping me with that.” Eren pouted.

“Being your adorable little brother doesn’t help my case?” Rose rolled her eyes, ruffling his hair.

“You’re not little. You’re taller than me.” Rose stated, raising an eyebrow.

“…Fine.” Eren submitted, and Rose laughed, proud of her accomplishment. She hated laundry.

\-----

“Not so far apart, Eren!” Rose exclaimed, groaning in exasperation. “You’re going to rip the sheet!”

Eren rolled his eyes, adjusting the clothespins pinning up the bedsheet. “Sorry, mom.”

Rose threw a sheet at him. “Keep up the impertinence and I’ll make you do all the laundry by yourself.”

Eren laughed, but shut up. They continued hanging the laundry on top of headquarters’ tower, enjoying the fresh air and bright sun. There was a slight breeze, but Rose paid no mind. “Hi, Rose!” Rose and Eren turned to the owner of the voice, Hanji, and beside them was Moblit.

“Hi, Hanji, Moblit,” Rose said, smiling at the two. Suddenly, the gentle wind from before increased, and it blew the pillowcase out of Rose’s hand and into the air. “Oh, crap, hang on, sorry.”

Rose reached out to grab the sheet, but the wind pulled it out of her reach. It was like it was teasing her, but Rose was determined to catch the sheet. She continued making attempts, and the wind continued to embarrass her. “Rose watch out!” Hanji yelled, but it was too late. Right as Rose caught the edge of the sheet, she stepped off the tower. The tower had nothing around the edges, as it had crumbled away with age.

Just like in a cartoon, Rose looked down in fright right as she began to drop. A sudden force on her neck and arm caused her to halt her movements. Looking up, Rose saw Moblit holding the back of her shirt and Eren holding her arm. “Lordy, Rose!” Eren exclaimed. “Don’t have a repeat of year eight thirty-seven!”

Rose chuckled nervously as he hoisted her back onto the tower. “Wait, what happened then?” Hanji asked, and Rose remembered.

_“Rose, hang this up, please,” Carla told her daughter, handing her a clean bed sheet._

_“Okay, momma!” Rose said, reaching for it. A gust of wind blew it away before she could take it, though. Rose raced after it._

_“Rose, be care-” Carla’s warning was cut short as Rose ran right off the roof and plummeted to the road below._

_After Rose was brought back inside, Grisha examined his daughter’s arm. “You broke your arm and sprained your ankle, but don’t worry. It’ll heal very soon.”_

_Rose sniffed. “Okay, daddy.”_

“Yeah, so now we tend to avoid rooftops,” Eren said, and Rose rolled her eyes.

“Okay, not since I was an adult.”

“Yeah, but I think you better start avoiding them again.” Eren teased, and Rose smacked him.

“Oh, shut up.” She scolded as Hanji cackled like a banshee.

Eren laughed wickedly, and Rose smacked him again with a smile on her face. The four friends enjoyed a good laugh on the rooftop while doing the laundry.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hate this one ughhh

Erwin pushed a piece of paper across the dinner table to Rose during the superior’s meeting. “What’s this?” Rose asked picking it up. On the list were a bunch of names; Emily Landman, Mitchell Green, Anna Reel, Katherine Hollis, Owen and Olivia Island, Krista Lenz, and Conny Springer.

“This is your squad,” Erwin answered, and Rose nodded. “On our next expedition, they’re the forward scouts.”

Rose nodded once again. “Okay. Thank you.”

“My pleasure.” Erwin hummed. Rose raised an eyebrow at the strange reply but thought nothing more of it. Apparently, Levi had also noticed Erwin’s strange behavior, as he glanced at Erwin with a confused look on his face. His and Rose’s concern was valid, as not five minutes later he stood and started humming and swaying.

“Okay, what in the actual fuck?” Rose asked, not worrying about her language because there were no cadets around. Levi apparently noticed more than Rose as he glared at Hanji who was trying to not giggle.

“What did you do, four-eyes?”

Hanji cackled since they didn’t need to hide it anymore. “Oh, I just made the perfect mood-lifting serum! I put it in Erwin’s tea because he always seemed like a Debby Downer. I should have put it in your tea, Levi!” Rose’s mouth dropped open. She knew Hanji was brilliant yet mad at the same time but did both reach to levels that high?

“Hanji, how do you get him to stop? This is a serious meeting!” Rose asked, and Hanji shrugged.

“A shock. But the only problem is that the victim…err…person retains their usual personality. Erwin’s so calm and collected; he’s hard to shock.” Rose stretched and cracked her knuckles.

“Don’t worry. I’m an expert in shocking people.” She stated, and Mike looked on in silent worry.

Rose fell back in her chair, defeated, after a few minutes. Hanji was right. Erwin was not easily shocked. “That’s it?” Levi scoffed, and Rose rolled her eyes. He had been dissing her methods of shocking people for the last ten attempts.

“You want a damn shock, Levi?” she snapped. “Fine. Hey, Erwin!” The tall commander turned to her, and Rose executed her final, last, desperate plan. She lifted Levi up by his shirt and pressed her lips against his. It worked…maybe a little too well. Moblit dropped all his papers, Hanji stopped cackling, Mike looked exactly the same, Erwin blinked rapidly and took a step back, and Levi was too shocked to kill Rose.

“What the hell was that, Jäger?” Levi asked dangerously, and Rose dropped him, realizing exactly the consequences her actions will have on her.

“I…just realized that my mom is calling me goodbye,” Rose said at the speed of lightning and ran out of the room. Everyone else’s eyes followed her form.

“She does realize her mother is dead, right?” Hanji’s obvious question broke the silence that filled the room.

\-----

“Jesus, what is wrong with you?” Rose talked to herself, facing the mirror in the room. “Does your brain not work or something? Why are you such an idiot? Why didn’t you hug him or anything other than kiss him?” Rose sighed, flopping onto the bed behind her and sighing deeply. Thoughts ran through her head like mice until a knock on the door scattered them.

Rose stood, walked over to the door, and opened it. In front of her stood Levi in all of his glory...that is, until Rose slammed the door shut again and leaned on it.

“Open the door.” Levi’s voice rang out.

“Sorry, sir, but no,” Rose replied back, “I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

“It’s an order, Rosalie Jaeger.” Rose sighed, turning and pulling open the door. Levi stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. “Why did you run away?” Rose sighed again, sitting on her desk chair.

“You really need a reason? You can sit on the bed if you want.” She said, and Levi did so.

Levi rolled his eyes. “I do want to hear it from your own lips, Jäger.”

Rose fiddled with her hands. “I was scared.”

“Scared of what?”

“Scared of how you’d react,” Rose mutters after a long pause. Levi looks at her, and Rose looks down at her hands. He sighs, standing, and approaches her. Rose recoils, but Levi places a firm hand on her shoulder. Since she’s sitting, he leans down slightly, but she still won’t meet his eyes.

“Hey, look at me.” Rose glances up. “You don’t have to be scared of me,” Levi says, and Rose cracks a smile.

“Even if you’re doing your dumb hard stare that frightens the crap out of people?”

“Even if I’m doing the…hey!” Levi realized she had sort of called him dumb.

“Alright, alright, I’ll rephrase that. Even if you’re doing the hard stare that frightens the crap out of people?”

“Even if I’m doing the hard stare that frightens the shit out of people.”

“That isn’t the word I used.” Rose teased, and Levi chuckled slightly.

“Fine. Even if I’m doing the hard stare that frightens the crap out of people.” Levi amends his statement, and Rose smiles in satisfaction. The next thing he does totally contradicts what he said she didn’t have to do, and he presses his lips against hers, giving her a second kiss.

Rose’s eyes widen as Levi’s hands find a way to her hair, and he takes out her hairband. As Levi weaves his hands through her hair, Rose finally relaxes into the kiss, returning it slightly. This only eggs him on, and he presses harder. Rose squeaks, and he pulls back, smirking. “I got you back.” Was the only thing he said before slipping out of her room. Rose’s mouth drops open, and she angrily yanks open the door and yells after him.

“Levi Ackerman, go to hell!” Her shout drew some looks from others, but he was told that daily by Hanji and Rose, so they paid no other mind.

\-----

Rose ignored Levi the next day to the best of her ability. When he asked her something, she pretended not to hear him until he pretty much screamed in her ear. She could not fully ignore him since he was her superior, but she did her best. Hanji noticed something was wrong and tried to ask Rose about it, but all they got was a hard glare. Sighing, Hanji opted for Levi. She knew exactly how to twist his buttons.

“Levi you tell me what happened between you and Rose this instant or I swear I will tell everyone about Ms. Moppy.” Hanji threatened Levi with his pet broom.

Levi’s mouth opened, but he knew Hanji wouldn’t go back on their word. “I kissed her then told her it was just payback.”

It was Hanji’s turn to do the unexpected. They pushed their glasses up and slammed their hand on the table. “Levi, that was so rude! The poor girl is confused, hurt, and I can’t even think of anything else, but I’m sure her feelings are skyrocketing right now.”

Levi’s eyes widened slightly as he took all this in. Rose had always been alright with so many jokes; he thought she would understand this was a joke too and that he actually cared for her. He stood quickly. “I need to apologize.”

“Damn right you do,” Hanji stated before putting their glasses back on and leaving the office. Levi fell back in his chair after the hyper person left, sighing and rubbing his face.

“Fuck me.” He murmured, before getting out of his chair and starting on his search for Rose.

\-----

Unfortunately, Rose had already heard of Levi wanting to see her through the grapevine. She did her best to avoid him, recruiting Armin and Mikasa to help her. Eren wanted to help, but his hyperactive attitude and personality would make it very hard for him to be discreet. “Miss Rose, he’s said to be heading towards the training grounds by cutting through the cafeteria,” Armin said, and Rose sighed, deciding to skip lunch.

“Rose, he’s looking in through all the superior’s offices.” Rose groaned, thanking Mikasa, knowing she would have to put off her paperwork until tonight.

“ROSE!” Oh, shoot…Eren yelled at her, attracting the attention of everyone in the room…including Levi who had just entered. “Oh shoot. Sorry.” Eren realized his mistake as Levi headed over to her.  
Rose, using action star-worthy moves, jumped over a chair and ran into a hallway almost no one entered. Levi followed her still, however, so she ducked into an empty room. Thankfully, he walked right by, and Rose sighed in relief. She turned to inspect the room and gasped in awe at its beauty. If you look through the dust and cobwebs, the view was striking. There was a big arched window letting sunlight in, and the sunlight hit the grand piano in the middle of the empty space perfectly.

Rose, entranced by the beauty of the instrument standing in front of her, slowly walked forward. When she reached the piano, she extended a single finger, gently pressing one of the notes. A gorgeous, clear, sound emitted from the piano. It was a miracle the piano was in tune. Rose easily found the piano bench and pulled it out, as it was right under the keyboard. Sitting down, she put her hands in the starting position for Moonlight Sonata. Before she knew it, the song had sprung like magic from her fingertips. Spellbound by the music, Rose played for what seemed like hours but was only a few minutes. “I didn’t know you played.”

Toppling off the piano bench, Rose let out an exclamation. “Jesus Christ playing the saxophone in a tree, Levi, don’t scare me,” Rose exclaimed after she picked herself off the ground.

“Sorry.” Levi was not sorry, at least from what Rose could see from his stance and facial expressions. “But where did you learn to play?”

“My mom paid for lessons when I was five. I continued them until I turned thirteen and left for cadet training.” Rose answered, turning back to the piano. “It’s amazing this is still in tune, especially with how untouched the room is.”

Levi hummed in response. “Play something for me.” He asked, and Rose raised her eyebrows.

“You just heard me play, though.”

“That was an order.” Oh right…Levi was still her superior. Rose huffed slightly before turning to the piano and resting her hands on the keyboard. A few moments of silence passed before Rose started playing Pachelbel’s Canon.

As she was caught up in the music, she didn’t notice Levi approaching her until he sat on the piano bench. Startled she jumped, stopping playing. “What are you doing?” she said, scrambling off the piano bench. Levi stood as well, approaching her.

“Look, Rose…stop backing the hell away from me! I am not going to murder you.” He spoke quietly, or at least until he noticed she was taking a step back every time he took a step forward. After she stopped, he finished what he was going to say. “I am sorry I kissed you and told you it was just to get you back.”

“Oh.” At that Rose stopped moving, sighing while looking down. “Nah, you’re fine. Not as bad as that dream incident.”

Levi straightened slightly and smiled. “Great.” He left abruptly, and Rose sighed again. After she waited for a few minutes and was totally sure he left, Rose exited the room herself.


	8. Ending Series

Not sure if I'm going to continue this. Can't find the inspiration to write more of my stories from when I was 13. I'll do my best to continue, but don't expect any updates. I'm sorry if you enjoyed it so far, but I haven't, and I don't think I can put more effort in something I hate.


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